Son of the Wolverine
by Avatar Conner
Summary: His name is James Hudson, he is Wolverine's son. And this is his story.
1. Chapter 1: Claws

Claws

AN: This is in part because I wanted to write this story as well as to get the word out. Netflix is willing to make Season 3 of Young Justice. IF their viewership for the show goes over 300,000 a month. So if you want to see the show as back as much as I do, go watch it. Watch it when you can, on whatever device you can.

"Talking"

'Radio'

 _'Telepathic speech'_

 _Thinking_

 **'Automated speak'**

III

O

* * *

 **Toronto, Canada. August 22nd 2008, 7:30 a.m.**

He didn't want to get up. He just wanted to sleep in bed for until noon. It was Friday and James didn't have school, he deserved to sleep in. But he woke up just as the sun was beginning to rise. Whether it was him being used to waking up this early for school, or something else but he didn't want to move my butt.

But he's been trying to sleep for the past hour and a half. James finally decided to get up out of bed, throwing my covers off, he slipped out of bed and walked to the dresser. Taking out some jeans, socks, and a grey, long sleeve shirt and a light blue hoodie, he looked at the mirror on his door.

His dark brown hair was messy with bed head, using his fingers as a comb he brushed it over to his left. Opening the door, he walked down the hall past the bathroom, his mom and dad's room, and his little brother's room.

His name is James Hudson, and he's a Canadian. His Adoptive parents, Jerry and Heather, took him in back when he was a infant, it wasn't until he turned 15 a few months ago they told him the truth. he wasn't angry about it, in fact he had his suspicions. Mainly because his stepmother had ginger red hair and his stepfather was a blonde like his brother Sammy.

As for his birth father, he didn't know much about him, my parents said that they did and he was a good man. However he was a solider first and knew he couldn't be a father with his lifestyle. James respected that in a weird way, he knew he couldn't be there for his son so he gave him to someone who could.

His name was Logan.

As he made my way down the stairs to the front door of the house he slipped on his old sneakers and opened the door and stepped outside. The Hudson family lived outside of Quebec, the city was a fairly short drive away though.

As he walked down the side of the road, a few cars passed him by on their way towards the city. A small worn path trailed off the road, walking into the brush, he felt the northern wind blow over his clothes and through his hair. A bit of snow from the tree above hit his shoulder, he simply brushed it off, living up here, one could get used to the cold pretty quick, but it seemed James did not get cold as quickly as others do. His brother made a joke once that I must be part Griz.

Following the path, he soon found myself at a small pond. It was a little hideaway he discovered a few years ago, during the summer he would come down here with his brother and they'd fish. He eventually stopped coming along, but James still came here on his own from time to time.

Walking over to a downed tree, he used his sleeve to brush snow off the bark before taking a seat. It was still fairly dark out, the sunlight didn't even touch him, but he wasn't dead tired anymore as well. Inhaling through his nose, he blew the air out through his mouth.

Part of his brain was telling him that he was stupid for coming outside in the cold when he instead could be at home in a nice warm bed. A nice, cozy bed with blankets. But the peacefulness of this little pond always made him feel…..better. It's not descriptive, but it was the best way he could describe it.

A howl in the distance made his head snap up, wolves. It was dangerous it is to live in Alaska. Well mostly because of the dangerous wildlife in Canada, James knew what to do in case he came across a dangerous animal however.

But that didn't mean he looked for cougars.

So when he heard a very closer howl behind him, he turned around and saw a brown wolf looking at him. James gulped, it growled, his first instinct told him to run like hell, but you NEVER turn your back on a wolf. Mainly because they will outrun you and kill you.

You keep eye contact, and back away slowly.

So James eyes locked with the wolves, He slowly backed away as it stalked forward. "Easy buddy, I'm just gonna-" James started before he took another step back on the slope of the pond. The teen fell into the water. This sudden action caused the wolf to pounce over the log and into the now wet prey.

It's claws cut into his chest, Jakes cried out as his flesh was torn. It's jaws locked around his shoulder as it pulled and ripped at the skin. Instincts took over, James kept punching the animal in the neck, he kept hitting it as the wolf it pulled it's head back and ripped his skin and hoodie.

James wailed from the pain.

Skint!

The wolf yelped loudly before falling on top of James. The wounded teen writhed in pain, somehow slipping out from under the now dead animal. His hand flew to my shoulder, his other one was stinging like crazy. Looking at his hand he saw it was covered in blood. He didn't dare look at the wound, either out of fear or unwillingness, take your pick.

James managed to sit up straight, looking at the wolf, he saw it's right side smeared with blood, the fur turning from light brown to dark red. Three cuts leaked blood, from the same side he kept punching it from. He raised his right hand to see if it was wiry from whatever killed the beast.

His hands were bloody. From both their blood.

Between the knuckles of his first were three…...metal claws…..each of them sharpened to a point with a slight curve to them. Three of them, He had three claws poking out of my hand. He of course responded as anyone would.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!"

What? How else would you react?

The rush of adrenaline made the other hand sting as three claws also emerged from between his knuckles. "GAAAHHH! WHY?!" James screamed as he grabbed his other hand. Now both hands were bleeding, and the claws both were coaxed in the teen's blood.

James slowly got up from the red tinted water and waded out from the pond. He looked down at my shaking hands, the claws dripping with blood. The teen looked at my shoulder, wondering if most of the blood came from me or the wolf, only to see that the wound had healed!

"Ok…...so how the hell do I put them back in?!" He yelled out.

III

O

 **Toronto, Canada. August 22nd 2008, 1200hrs.**

When James got back home, it didn't take long for his family to discover my…..condition. "Does it hurt?" Sammy asked, James's younger brother had blonde hair like father, it was long and was parted down the middle and a few freckles across his nose and cheeks. Sam was only two years younger than his stepbrother, he was Heather and Jerry's son, he knew James wasn't his biological brother.

He's still a tool bag to him, showing him that things were still the same between the two.

"They're sharp knives coming out of my knuckles. What do you think?!" James asked, racing my hands up and accidentally stabbing the fan over the table. He quickly pulled back, him and his brother looked at one another, both of us sharing a look of shock. "Say. Nothing." the older brother threatened, pointing at him with my claws.

Their mom and dad had told James to try and keep calm and sit down while they talk. He took a shaky breath before letting my head rest on the table, his palms resting on the back of his head, the claws grazing one another slightly. "Sam could you leave me alone? I…..I gotta process this." he asked, the step brother gave him a look of concern before standing up and walking by him.

"It'll be ok man. We'll get you declawed." he said, patting James on the back before leaving him alone. After he left, James craned my head backed in my seat. This can't be happening, this has to be some sort of bad dream or something!

"I just got off the phone with her, she'll be here pretty soon." Heather said.

He snapped his eyes open, _that was my mom's voice!_ 'Good…..how did this happen? James hasn't shown any signs of….'

 _Dad….wait they knew this would happen?! How?! Wait, how can I even hear them? They're in the next room behind a closed door, I usually can't hear them from that far away._

Today just seems to be getting worse and worse. James was about to run my hands down his face but stopped himself, he didn't want to cut himself with his own claws. Holding his hands out in front of him, he looked at my claws, they didn't hurt now thankfully. But seeing them…..it still scares him.

Well they came out, so they have to go back in right?

He took a deep breath through his nose, and exhaled through his mouth in a long drawn out blow. He watched as the metal slowly retracted back into his forearms, the holes caused by them quickly sealed back up. Like they are never there. As soon as they were gone, the door opened.

In stepped his mom and dad, his mom had red ginger hair with freckled cheeks, green eyes hidden behind a pair of glasses with concern. Taking a seat on each side of him, his mom put a hand on his shoulder while his dad ruffled my hair. "It's going to be alright bud." His stepfather said reassuringly.

James looked at him skeptically, "How!? I got fricking claws! How is that even possible?" he asked, trying my best not to panic. If relaxing made them go back in, then panicking would probably make them pop out again.

James's stepfather was always a calm man, in part it was his time in the army that shaped that. He was part of the government, Department H, a response force to meta human events. It was made back when the Justice League was formed, his father was head of operations there. He even got to meet a few of the members of the League.

"James you're going to be fine. I promise." he said reassuringly, the teen visibly calmed down from the reassurance. "Listen, we have someone who's coming by in a bit who…...is a expert on this sort of thing." he explained.

James was somewhat unnerved by that, 'this sort of thing' sounded like another way of saying 'freak'. The three of them waited at the table, his mother asking him if he wanted anything to drink or eat to try and help him stay calm.

James's head snapped up as he heard footsteps at the front door, the footsteps stepped before the door. They went off to the side, James heard the crunching of snow going around the house. "Um…...guys, I'm gonna get some air out back." he said before standing up and walking out the back door.

Closing the door behind him, he walked around the side of the goose to where the person who was at the door moments ago was heading. Rounding the house, he found no one was there. However in the snow where footprints leading away from the house.

James followed them, around his house was a large yard that led into the forest. Walking through the shrubbery, James followed the footprints, hopping over a fallen tree and down a hill before pushing through a few tree branches and nearly stumbling into a clearing.

He wasn't alone, standing in front of him was a girl. She was older than him, with long black hair, green eyes, and had fair skin and an athletic frame. Her clothing consisted of a button up winter coat, cargo pants, and pink gloves. "Um…..hi." James greeted.

"Hey. You must be James." she greeted, making the teen nod. She could tell he was nervous, she raised her hands in a non threatening manner. "My name's Laura, Laura Kenny." she introduced. James still did not look entirely calm, but he seemed better. She turned her palm towards herself as she took the off her left hand.

Two blades popped out from between her knuckles.

James's eyes widened in shock, his surprise causing his own claws to pop out. "GAH! Sonofvabitch that hurts!" he yelled out as he fanned his hands, unable to touch where his claws emerged.

"Yeah it's a literal pain at first. But it gets duller. Instead of knives coming out of cuts, it feels like papercuts." she explained, sheathing her own claws. James looked down at his own blades, he wiggles his hands, trying to urge them back in. "Just focus." Laura said.

James stopped struggling and imagined them going back in, they slid back inside him. "So….you're like me?" he asked, somewhat still in awe. She nodded, "But how did this happen?! I-It just happened today and-" he plopped down in the snow, his hands over his face. "I don't think I can handle this." he breathed out.

Laura walked over in front of him and kneeled down, "Hey, hey, hey, don't worry. Your dad called me and told me what happened, I'm here to explain." she began, the teen dropping his hands to look at her. "What do you know about your father? Your birth father I mean?" she asked, wondering just how much the Hudsons had told him.

"His name was Logan….and he met my dad in the service." he answered.

Laura stared at him expectantly, as though there was more to say. When he kept quiet her expression changed from expectant to disappointed. "Your kidding…...your dad dropped the ball. Big time." she said, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Ok. You ever hear of the JSA? Justice Society of America?" James nodded. "You remember the members? The guy in the blue and yellow and the weird cowl?" she asked, making a gesture by tracing circles around her eyes and extending her fingers out before bringing them to a point.

"Oh yeah! The only Canadian on the team right?" He asked, Laura looked at him strangely, "What? He was the only Canadian on a American super team. That's pretty memorable." he pointed out.

She rolled her eyes, "Ok yeah fair point. That guy was the Wolverine…..and I'm his clone." she explained, watching James's reaction.

He blinked, "Um…...wasn't he a dude?"

"Yeah and in not. Obviously. But look…...Wolverine is your father…...wow there's no other way to say that is there?" she asked out loud as soon as she said it.

James meanwhile was in a mixed state, shock over the revelation, anger that he hadn't known about it beforehand, and strangely a sense of excitement. His father was a superhero, "But wait, the JSA was made like what, fifty years ago? How old is he? Where is he?" he sputtered out, realizing by that math his father must be in his later years of life.

Laura raised her hands in a calming manner, "Look it's a long story. And I'll be happy to tell it but we should get you back home." she said before standing up and raising a hand to him. James looked at it before clasping it, Laura had to dig into the ground to pull him up, surprising her a little.

Metal Claws, and skellington maybe? Guess you got more of LOgan in you than we thought.

III

O

* * *

Laura explained everything to him.

Logan Howlett, his father, was a founding member of the JSA and fought alongside them for most of the team's lifespan. But unlike the others, he did not age due to his healing factor, the power to heal from any wound. That power is also how he got his unbreakable claws.

Before joining the JSA, Logan was captured and experimented on by a program only known as Weapon X. The process made him lose all his memories of his life prior to weapon X, only knowing that his name was Logan. He soon after joined the team of superheroes and joined in on their adventures.

However after the team was disbanded, Logan wandered the world, going on many adventures before trying to settle down somewhere East. However, when the Justice League was formed, he saw that others were willing to take up the fight. He was offered membership and joined, however he eventually retired, leaving the League and opting for a more peaceful life. But not before leaving Laura in his place. Logan met James's stepfather on a number of missions to Canada, and when he was born, he gave them James to look after.

No one knows where he is now.

III

O

"Why did he leave me with you guys though?" James asked his parents. Laura, James, Jerry, and Heather had all taken their seats in the dining room table, Laura had just finished explaining Logan's story to him. He was sad to hear that his father had been a test subject, but he was more curious as to why Logan would leave him.

"Logan had a lot of enemies, not all of them were superpowered, but enough were. He just wanted to keep you safe James." Laura explained to the teen as his mother put a hand on his shoulder.

His stepfather nodded, "Back then, we were trying to have a baby, but when Logan came to me and explained that he wanted you to have a loving home…..how could I say no?" he asked, making the teen smile at his father's words.

James shifted his gaze to Laura, "So what happens now?" he asked simply.

Laura looked at both his parents, they nodded solemnly. "Well…..I can teach you how to control your gifts. Have it so that your claws don't come out every time someone jumps out and yells 'boo'...or…...I could train you, you could come with me and I could teach you how to fight, and who you should fight." she offered.

James looked at both his parents unbelievingly, they wouldn't be ok with this would they?!

His mother smiled, "What? It's not like you can get hurt." she pointed out.

James looked at Laura, she gave him a small smile, "Your choice….you get a costume."

"Why would I want a costume?" James asked.

"Who doesn't?" Laura asked.

James thought it over, was he comfortable with having a normal life, knowing that he could do more?

"...sign me up."

III

O

* * *

Two years, two years of training under Laura. James compared to to absolute hell. Not that she was bad at teaching him, by the third week he could pop his claws by will instead of instinct. But after that, she taught him how to fight. By the end of the first sparring session, James had his jugular sliced, his shoulder dislocated, and stabbed in the back literally five times.

Due to their healing factors, Laura didn't exactly show restraint

James eventually met a few other heroes, Captain Atom, Hawkman, even the Flash. To say he was awestruck every time would be a understatement.

He also learned one his most valuable skills from Laura, how to track and hunt. She showed him how to use his superhuman senses to their fullest. He tracked a single mountain lion through the Rockies, he stalked a drug dealer from Boston to Virginia without being noticed until his claws were at his throat.

His fighting was also much better, he fought a room of men fully armed with AK-47's and took them all down single handedly.

But most importantly, his and Laura's relationship became that of a older sister and younger brother. He still was close to his adoptive family, even if he did not see them for months on end. It was awkward at first, her being a clone of his father, but now he saw her as family.

III

O

* * *

 **Chinatown. New York City, July 4th 2010, 20:07.**

On the outskirts of Chinatown, two people scaled the fire escape on the side of a apartment complex. Both of them were dressed fully in black, their faces covered with ski masks and each carrying weapons, one carrying a crowbar and the other a pistol. Reaching the top floor, one of them put the crowbar against the crack in the window and opened it.

"Ok like we planned, in and out. Steal as much as you can then-" the one with the crowbar started as he slipped into the room behind his partner.

Click!

The lights turned on, "Oh…...wow…..you guys are robbers." the two turned to the source of the voice. Standing the middle of the room was a teenager around sixteen years of age, he had brown hair that was cut so that his bangs were ever so slightly spiked upwards.

He also had his sideburns trimmed so they were close to his face. He had a pair of dark blue jeans and white tee shirt.

James was smiling, "That. Is. Hilarious! BWAHAHAHAHAAA!" he howled in laughter as the two robbers looked at one another as the teen fearlessly laughed at them. The teen wiped tears of laughter out of the corner of his eye, "Ahhhhh, that was good, i needed that. Tell you what, I'll let you guys leave. Only chance." he warned lightheartedly.

The two looked at one another in disbelief before one of them raised their gun.

 _SHINK!_

James jabbed his claws into the wrist holding the gun before turning it to his partner as he yelled out a squeezed the trigger. The bullet grazed his friend's pant leg. The teen kicked the gunman in the chest as his friend rushed him with the crowbar raised.

James raised his other hand, swiping his claw into the metal, cutting clean through it. He leveled his arm out before shooting his elbow into the robber's face with enough gouge to break his nose. "GAH! Mth Nosh!" he wheezed out before the teen retraced one of his claws and grabbed him by his collar.

He heard the other robber trying to get through the window, he turned to the window and threw the robber into his partner, knocking them both out and over the railing. James waited until he heard them crash into the pile of garbage beside the dumpster outside. "And stay out." he muttered before clapping his hands together.

Walking out of his sister's bedroom, he entered the living room/kitchen where the TV was on. Sitting down in the chair opposite of the TV, he grabbed the bottle of water he set down and took a sip.

The news was reporting a Cadmus lab had collapsed in on itself after a fire earlier today. James watched the news for a few before changing the channel for something to watch, living in the states was hard at first. Unfamiliar surroundings, a different climate, for a while he wore his winter wear in the fall because it usually gets colder up north that time of year.

But by now, he had grown used to it.

Hours passed before the door to the apartment opened, in stepped Laura. "Ok. Why is there gunpowder in my home?" she asked as soon as she stepped into the room.

James smirked, "We got 'robbed'." he said, air quoting the last word. Laura snorted at that, "Yeah, that's how I reacted before I threw them out the window." he replied as Laura took a seat on the couch, stretching her legs out on the cushions.

"We're on the third story, they'll be fine. Aside from what I assume are a few cuts." She fussed, James nodded as he flicked through channels on the remote before giving up and settling on a rerun of Family Guy.

"So why you home so late? Your usually back earlier." he noticed. Laura trusted him home alone, however if one of them didn't check in it wouldn't go unnoticed.

She sighed, "Tall dark and brooding called us together. A bunch of their partners went off on their own…..turns out Superman has a clone." she said, making James nearly choke on his water. "Yeah that was his reaction to finding out…...apparently they're putting together a team."

"Really?" James asked, somewhat surprised by the news.

Laura nodded, the silence after carried throughout the room. "You think you may want to join?" she asked suddenly.

"What? Why? We do ok by ourselves." he pointed out. He and Laura had a mentor and student relationship, but they both didn't need to rely on one another.

"Yeah….but I think it may be good for you. I mean you've never partnered up with anyone other than me. Plus, hanging out with heroes your own age wouldn't be so bad." she pointed out.

James thought the idea over, most of their missions were either solo or a duo job. Never had he really been ok s team with other heroes before…...and if didn't sound like a bad idea. "Hmmmm…...why not? Sounds like fun….I don't need to wear a uniform or something do I?" he asked.

He had nothing against superhero costumes, but when multiple people wear the same costume on a team? Like Power Rangers on TV? It makes him feel like facepalming himself with his claws.

"One of these days you're gonna get a costume and you'll never want to take it off." she replied.

III

O

* * *

 **Manhattan bridge, New York. July 8th, 07:50**

It took a few days, but when Laura came home a few nights later she told him the Team was a go. Laura, or X-23 as she was known to the world, wore a black leather jacket with padding on the elbows and a yellow X that went over her chest and back. She wore combat boots and pants with padding on the knees as well. Her face was hidden behind a simple domino mask with white eyes.

Laura took him under a bridge, as she approached, she spoke, "Zeta Tube, activation code zero six one six." she said out loud. The Brock wall in front of them slid upwards, revealing a metal tube leading into the bridge with lights on the inside. Beside the tube was a control panel.

Laura walked over and began typing into it, "Ok…...so how long has this been here?" James asked, looking over the large machine.

"A few years now. They're called Zeta tubes, they're big teleporters that beam us up all over the place." she explained as she finished on the control pad. "Come on, first time is weird but you get used to it." she said before walking into the tube with James following her.

'Recognized. X-23, 018. Wolverine, B-06.'

A almost blinding light filled the tunnel, it felt like he was walking on air for a few seconds before he felt the ground once again. He blinked away the spots in his vision as he looked around the new environment.

As his sight returned to normal, he could tell that this place wasn't used for a while by the smell. It smelled old, but there was a lot of recent activity from the looks of it. He watched as a few of the members of the justice league helped clean the place up.

Laura bumped his shoulder, "Come on, someone I want you to meet, its their first day too. So be nice." she advised.

"I am nice. You're the one who growls at people." James pointed out as they walked away from the main room. "And don't think I didn't catch what the computer said. Why call me Wolverine?" he asked.

"Well what else am I going to call you? Jimmy?" she asked, smirking a little at the name he hated. James hated that nickname, his brother called him it whenever he wanted to get under his skin.

"I'll change it later." he said begrudgingly as he followed Laura into a room that looked akin to a waiting room. There was a waterfall on one wall with a few chairs and a couch in the room as well. But what got his attention was the tall, male looking green man in black with a red X over his chest and blue cape in the room. "Oh….hi."

Laura rolled her eyes, "James, this is J'onn J'onzz. Martian Manhunter. J'onn this is James." she introduced. The alien looked at the young man and gave him a friendly smile before bowing his head ever so slightly.

"Greetings James, it is good to finally meet you." he said in a friendly tone.

"Y-you too…...nice to meet you sir." James said, mimicking mimicking how J'onn bowed his head. A quick whiff of the air, he smelled another scent in the room, however when he looked around he saw that there was only three of them in the room.

Manhunter noticed his confusion, "Ah, it appears that you have your father and sister's senses." he said before looking over at the empty room. "M'gann, there is no need to fear." he said sweetly.

The air shifted as another joined the room, this one was a young teenage girl. She had green skin like Martian Manhunter, but unlike him, she had long, red hair, green eyes, and freckles across her face. Her outfit was also different, while she had a cape like J'onn, she had a white blouse and blue shirt with matching g boots and gloves. But similarly had a red X over her chest.

Her hands folded behind her back in a shy manner, James compared her to that of a small lost pup from the way she was acting. "This is Miss. Martian, my niece." he explained.

James simply smiled and held out his hand, "Hi, I'm James. James Hudson. Nice to meet you." he greeted warmly.

The Martian smiled before shyly taking his hand and shaking it. "H-Hi, I'm Miss. Martian….well you knew that already of course…." She blustered out embarrassingly.

"Miss. Martian will be on the team just like you." Manhunter explained to the pair. "In fact, we should go introduce you two to the others." he said before leading the two teens towards the mission room.

Upon re-entering the room, James saw that it was more populated than it was a few minutes ago. Batman, Aquaman, The Flash, Black Canary, Red Tornado, and a few other members of the League were present. But there were also four other teens, one of them was darker skinned and had what looked like a blonde buzzcut, another was the youngest of the group, his eyes covered by glasses.

Another had ginger red hair and freckles, the final one looked angry, with a simple black t-shirt with the superman logo in red on it. "Cool! Wait, six?" the youngest asked before batman stepped aside to show the two new additions. James wore a simple grey long sleeve shirt with a brown vest and wrangler jeans.

"This is Miss. Martian and James Hudson. They'll be your new teammates." Batman introduced.

James raised a hand and waved, "Hey." he greeted simply with a smile as Miss. Martain gave a more shy greeting to the other boys.

The ginger haired boy leaned over to the younger member, "Liking this gig more every minute." he whispered, James picking it up and rolling his eyes a little but still smiling. "Uh, welcome aboard, I'm Kid Flash, that's Robin, Aqualad. It's cool if you forget their names." he said, each of his friends giving the two of them a greeting at their mention.

Miss. Martian clasped her hands together and smiled, "I am honored to be included." she said respectfully.

"Nice to meet you guys, thanks for letting me join," James said gratefully.

Kid Flash sped around him, looking him over from head to toe. "So uhh, no offense, but what exactly can you do?" he asked, stopping between Aqualad and Robin. Aqualad elbowed his side, "Ow! Sorry, just curious. Sorry." he said, somewhat apologetically.

James shrugged, "It's fine. I never met you guys before. I guess I'm your…...Tracker?" he asked, "My sister suggested I join you guys." he explained.

Aqualad quirked an eye, "Apologies, we were not aware any of the women in the League had a sibling."

James smirked, Well I guess being the son of the guy you were cloned from doesn't exactly translate well. He thought before raising his fist, his metal claws popped out with a SHINK!

The others all stared at the claws, the silence carried on for a few seconds, James started to think he may have crossed a line before Kid Flash grinned. "Dude. That is so cool." James smiled before sheathing the claws, lowering his hand so the didn't see the cuts heal. "So wait, X-23 is your sister? Hey that means you're a clone like Superboy, right?" he asked, looking at the clone in question.

James rubbed the back of his neck, "Um…..no, I mean…...ok sister may not be the right word. Maybe Aunt?" he guessed. Robin and Kid Flash understood what he was saying, Superboy seemed to understand as well while Miss. Martian looked a little confused.

"Despite your origins, we are happy to have you on the Team…...Today is the day." he said happily as the others smiled at his words.

 **AN: And there we go! First chapter to the story down!**

 **Now, you're probably wondering why James does not have Bone Claws like his father did. It is officially stated that the Beta Adamantium fused to Logan's mutation, so that if he were to have his claws broken, they would grow back with adamantium. And even then Jimmy Hudson (whom James is based off of) has metal coated claws that his mutation made.**

 **Now you're probably wondering if there will be other mutants in this story, in a sense there already are. In season 2 of the show the aliens proved that humans, put under stress, develop mutations in order to survive. In as sense, this is what happened to Logan and James. Now, as of now, James does not have a suit to wear on missions, he will get one, just not right now.**

 **This story will attempt to show what happened between the five year time skip, it will also follow what happened in the comics of the show as well.**

 **Now most importantly, this show is not dead. Not yet anyway, Netflix has said that they are considering on making a third season of the show if the viewership increases. So I ask that you watch it, and if you don't have Netflix, then get the DVDs, the comics, anything. If you love this show do not be afraid to show it, now more than ever. That's all that I ask.**

 **Now don't be afraid to fallow, favorite, and review. Until next time everyone.**


	2. Chapter 2: Welcome to Happy Harbor

Welcome to Happy Harbor

 **Mount Justice, Happy Harbor. July 18th 9:33a.m.**

It took James and Laura a few days to move his belongings into the new base, this of course came after a rather long debate on if James would still live at home or at hideout. While James was ok with the idea of having a bed at the HQ for him, he wasn't sure about moving all his belongings.

But in the end he thought that having his own space away from Laura would be a nice step in the right direction. Plus he liked having a queen sized bed as compared to his single.

The tracker leaned up from bed into a upright position. Pressing his hands to his lower back he pushed forward until he heard a few pops in his back. He let out a satisfied groan, "Aaaaahhh. Bed. You and I are gonna be good friends." he said before flopping back down onto the mattress.

Taking a few minutes to wake up, he pulled the blankets off him and stood up before walking to the closet on the wall to the right of the bed. The closest had a number of clothes hanging up over a dresser containing other clothes as well. Putting on a short sleeve olive colored shirt, he grabbed a pair of pants and a red flannel jacket as well.

Tossing some old black work boots on, he opened the door to his room and made his way down the hall. Miss. Martian had moved in the night prior and aside from a few minutes of conversation he didn't get much of a chance to talk with her. Superboy had been here longer as well, there was a small incident the day he met everyone where he came into context with a Genome from Cadmus that came to the cave as well and played tricks on him after the rest of them left.

Superboy didn't seem too bad, he had a attitude, but James didn't hold it against him. Given that he was barely a month old and all, his people skills are allowed to be bad.

The teen found himself nearing the back entrance to the cave, a scenic overlook of the surrounding forest. Stepping over the cliff side, James slid down the side of the mountain. Reaching the base of the mountain, he began to walk through the forest.

Having just moved in the night prior, James woke up early to get a good look at the surrounding forest. Laura practically had all his training in the open like this, in fact their first few months together were spent in the woods.

 **Forests of Canada, October 13th, 2008 13:35p.m.**

Laura was officially crazy. At least that is what James was beginning to think. It had been a few weeks since he met Laura and they've spent all of that time out in the cold. They'd gone north of Quebec until there was nothing but snow at their feet, the cold didn't bother him though,dame for Laura.

"Come on! Remember, keep your guard up and claws close together." Laura said, standing a few feet away with her own blades at the ready, close to her sides. James had his claws unsheathed as well, he was a tad scruffed up, a small cut on his cheek healed. The teen charged forward, swiping his right arm out, Laura parried his blades with one hand while James's other hand went for her abdomen. She pushed the arm over with her free hand so that it missed her side before slamming her elbow into James's jaw.

He stumbled back, falling backwards into the snow, "Agh, ow…...I surrender." he groaned out. Lura put her foot over his neck, a claw popping out from between the middle of her toes, "Ok! Ok! No surrender out here! Don't slice my neck." he pleaded as she retracted her blades. Laura let out a sigh.

"Your…...your acting without thinking." she said, somewhat agitated. Looking down, she saw the look of disappointment on James's face. She backed off, allowing him to sit up, "Look you've made great progress James, but you're at a wall here. I just want you to get this."she explained before taking a seat next to him in the snow.

James looked over and sighed, "I'm sorry." he said apologetically.

"Don't be….I don't exactly know how to teach…..I mean I was programed with all I know. Logan just taught me how to….suppress some of that." she explained. Laura hadn't explained everything that she went through to him, what was she supposed to say? She was cloned as a weapon? She killed more people by age six than most grown soldiers had? That she used to cut herself after she killed her mother?

"...well you taught me how to use my claws, if you can do that, you're already a good teacher." James said, making a smile stretch over her face. She looked over to see him stand up, holding a hand out to her, she took it, he pulled her up onto his feet before taking a few steps back. Popping his claws, Laura did the same.

"Remember, you gotta think while fighting. That's the key." she said before getting ready.

She charged forward, James met her head on, he ducked under a stab aimed at his reeled a arm back for a slash, James was about to intercept it by raising his claws to block it, but he jabbed them forward into her bicep, making her hiss out as he grabbed her other arm and pulled her forward with his knee outstretched. Laura countered by stepping upo into his knee with her left foot and swung her other foot into his gut, kicking the air out of him and causing him to let go before jumping off him, sending him back into the snow.

Laura held her torn bicep, "Ok that is what I'm talking about. But you don't need both arms to pull someone in, soon as you grabbed my other hand i knew you were going to move me." she explained as James picked himself up. "Ready to go again?" she asked.

The two spent the day fighting, each bout saw improvement with James. And that made Laura think she wasn't out of her depth, maybe she could teach.

* * *

 **Mount Justice Happy Harbor July 18th 2010. 11:05 a.m.**

James spent the next few hours familiarizing himself with the surrounding forest of the cave. When his watch showed it was five past eleven he headed back to the back entrance. As soon as he entered, he nearly ran into Superboy as he walked around the corner, "Oh sorry man." he said apologetically to the clone. The kryptonian simply shrugged before continuing on his way, james followed him for two reasons, the first was Superboy seemed to be the only one in the team who didn't have much to say. That was fine, James respected his privacy but if he was going to work with him, he at least wanted to be friends with him. And the other reason…...well he didn't exactly have anything else to do.

As the pair entered the Mission Room, they spotted Aqualad and Miss. Martian looking at a holo screen as the Zeta tubes hummed to life, _'Recognized: Robin. B01. Kid Flash B03.'_ the computer spoke as the two both beamed in. James still didn't exactly like the machines. For one, he's seen The Fly. One of the first things he did though was change his codename from Wolverine to Razor, he's seen pictres of his father, and as much as he respected him, he didn't want to get confused with, as many described him, a short hairy mean man.

Their words, not his.

Robin and Kid Flash both rushed over to where the others were, looking at the screen witha small picture of Red Tornado on it. "Did ask him?" Robin asked excitedly. "What did he say?" Kid Flash also asked in a equal manner.

"He's arriving now." Aqualad answered as the image in the screen showed the hero closing in on their location.

Kid Flash gave a light punch to Robin's chest, "Then what are we waiting for?" he asked before taking off, Robin fallowing him with Aqualad falling in behind them. Superboy simply walked behind while flew ahead, James walked alonside Superboy.

"Um…..what's going on exactly?" he asked the boy of steel, feeling that he was out of the collective loop.

"Red Tornado's flying in, we're thinking he has a mission for us. I'm getting sick of just standing around." he said, a hint of agitation in his voice.

James shrugged, "Well where I come from, I'd rather be inside and doing nothing than outside and nearly dying." he responded, making Superboy look at him strangely. "...Canada. 'M from Canada." he explained sheepishly.

"What's so dangerous about Canada?" he asked, not exactly buying that the continent to the north was that dangerous.

"You mean besides the wolves,grizzly bears, polar bears, poisonous spiders, rattlesnakes, Elk, and yes they are dangerous, Moose, Cougars, and avalanches? Freezing to death is pretty common." he listed off, causing the clone to give him a blank look. "Hey I heal fast, I'm not invulnerable….and elk are dicks." he said, recalling one instance he was ran through by one once.

"...well you have free healthcare." Superboy pointed out, a slight smirk on his face. James grinned, the boy of steel had a heart after all.

Exiting the cave through the front entrance, the six members of the team watched as Red Tornado flew down a twister and landed in front of them, "Greetings. Is there a reason you have intercepted me outside the cave?" he inquired to the group.

"We hoped that you had a mission for us." Aqualad explained to the andriod.

"Mission assignments are the Batman's responsibility." Red Tornado replied simply. The team looked a little disheartened at the reply. James knew that Red tornado was not exactly alive but him being this…...well, robotic, was not what he expected.

"But it's been over a week and nothing's-" Robin began before Red Tornado held up his hand.

"You will be tested soon enough, for the time simply enjoy each other's company."the andriod responded, it came out more like a order than a suggestion.

Aqualad looked at the others, "This team is not a social club." he stated adamantly, some offense in his voice. James could smell the mixed emotions coming off him, Kid Flash and Robin had a similar scent as well. It was mixed but the most prominent was irritation.

"No. But I am told that social interaction is an important team building you can keep busy by familiarizing yourselves with the cave." he suggested as he walked past the group of teens. Most of which showing signs of disappointment.

Kid Flash slugged Robin's shoulder, "Keep Busy." he said with a hint of bitterness, thinking back to the conversation he, Robin, and Aqualad had with their friend the night prior.

"Does he think we're falling for this?" Robin asked disbelievingly.

Miss. Martian lit up at that, "Oh, I'll find out." she said before focusing her attention on Red Tornado. James wanted to tell her that it was simply a figure of speech but was curious as to what exactly she was doing. She let out a small sigh of disappointment, "I-I'm sorry i forgot he's a machine. Inorganic. I cannot read his mind." she said apologetically to the others.

"Nice try though." kid Flash said before leaning toward Miss. Martian. "So uhhh,you know what I'm thinking right now?" he asked in a suave, not subtle at all manner

Dude I can smell the hormones, give it a rest. James thought. Unfortunately with his superhuman senses, he could sometimes smell what others were giving off. Adrenaline for example, but he could smell the testosterone coming off the speedster.

Robin elbowed his friend, "We all know what you're thinking now."

Aqualad looked down before casting a disappointed gaze at the others, "And now we tour the clubhouse.: he said, his tone matching his appearance.

Miss. Martian looked around with a positive smile, "Well, Superboy, James, and I live here. We can play tour guides." she suggested.

They looked at both James and Superboy, "Um….sure? Why not?" he asked while Superboy was indifferent about the notion. James cleared his throat, "So, this here is the front door, we have it connected to the garage and there's a road about half a mile that way." he began, pointing to the direction the clearing went.

III

O

* * *

After showing them the back door to the cave, they began on their way to the hanger when James smelled something, baked goods. From the smell of it, they were cookies, and they were just about done. "Um, I'll be right back. Miss. Martian care to take over?" he asked, as the alien led the others towards the hanger, james made his way towards the kitchen/louge area.

Running into the room, he saw that the oven was on with a batch of cookies inside. "Ok where's the oven mitt….oh right. Telepath, lifts with her mind." he sia with a small groan. Opening the oven, he sighed before grabbing the metal tray with his bare hands, "Gah, jezus that burns." he cursed as he kicked the oven door shut and set them on the countertop.

Looking at his hands, he saw there were some nasty burns on his palms, they were already healing thankfully. He hated to admit it, but he didn't exaclt like showing off his healing factor. When he visited his family last christmas, Sammy accidently cut him with a pair of scissors, when he saw how quickly he healed, he kept his distance until he left. When he heard the others approaching he hid his hands behind his back as they entered, "Oh my cookies! James thank you, I forgot all about them." she said gratefully as James gave her a nod.

Kid Flash grabbed one from the tray, "Yeah man thanks, much appreciated." he said gratefully.

"It was sweet of you to make any." Aqualad said with equal part gratitude.

Miss. Martian shyly slouched and held her hands together in front of her, "Thanks Aqualad."

The atlantean raised a hand, "We're off duty. Call me Kaldur'Ahm. Actually my friends call me Kaldur." he corrected, smiling a little bit while Kid Flash ate three more cookies.

"I'm Wally. See? I already trust you with my secret I.D." he said to Miss. Martian before gesturing to Robin who had a slight frown on his face, :Unlike mister dark glasses over here. Batman's forbidden boy wonder from telling anyone his real name." he said.

"Mine's no secret, it's M'gnn M'orzz. But, you can call me Megan." she said, "It's a earth name. And I'm on earth now." she said, making James smirk at how she tried to blend in with the others.

As Superboy started to walk away, he suddenly stopped and turned to M'gnn with a surprised look on his face, it quickly turned to anger as he grasped his head, "Get out of my head!" he demanded. Everyone stared at him before turning their attention to Megan.

 _'What's wrong? I-I don't understand. Everyone on Mars communicates telepathically.'_ she said within everyone's minds. James felt somewhat dizzy, having another voice in his head besides his own felt strange, invasive, intimate. Thankfully she stopped at Kaldur's bequest.

"Things are different on Earth. Here your powers are a extreme invasion of privacy." he explained gently to the Martian.

"Besides, CADMUS's creepy psychic genomes left a bad taste in his brain." Wally added as he pointed to superboy.

"I-I didn't mean to-" Megan started.

"Just. Stay. Out." he spat out before storming over to the couch and sitting down.

The five stood in silence for a moment after the outburst before M'gann palmed her forehead, "Hello Megan! I know what we can do." she said before lifting up from the ground and flying off. James looked at the others, Robin shrugged and they followed. After a bit of urging from Megan, Superboy followed as well.

A few minutes later they were in the Hanger. The elevator doors opened and in front of them on the landing pad wa large, oval shaped red object. "It's my martian bioship." M'gann explained as they walked towards it.

Wally was the first to speak, "Cute. Not aerodynamic, but cute." he said, being both supportive and doubtful.

M'agnn didn't stop smiling, "It's at rest silly. I'll wake it." she said before holding her hand out to it. Before their eyes the sides of the orb stretched into wings that touched the ground while two beaks spread out in front of it. It turned around in a 180 before stopping without leaving the ground. The back of the ship spilled down to make a ramp to enter. "Well, are you coming?" she asked.

The boys of the group looked a tad nervous stepping onto the ship. James compared it to walking into a huge lava lamp. Entering the ship, the wall separating the bay from the cockpit slid up, and six seats swirled up from the ground, as they took their seats, straps went over their chest without the need to buckle.

James was a little nervous, he didn't have anything against flying. But this thing was alive and he may have inadvertently just let it eat him. As the bay doors opened, he gripped the edge of his seat tightly before the ship zoomed out over the water and into the sky above the base.

"Incredible!" Robin proclaimed as he saw the ground below.

"She sure is…...the ship I mean. Like all ships, it is a she." Wally said, trying to recover what he could.

Robin grinned, "Fast with his feet, not so much with his mouth."

"Dude!" Wally exclaimed.

While they carried on, James looked out the window to see clouds passing by. He let himself start to relax, "He'll come around." he heard Robin say to M'gann.

"He doesn't seem to like me very much." she commented sadly.

'You guys know he has super hearing, right?" Wally asked, making James snicker.

"He's not the only one.: he pointed out before tapping his finger to his ear. As Robin requested M'gann show them some Martian Shapeshifting, he looked around the ship. Kaldur seemed like a nice guy, he carried himself like his dad did, like a soilder. Wally was a little annoying but in the same way a sibling was, M'gann was still like a lost pup trying to fit in with everyone. Superboy oviously had issues, but if he could live with Laura, this would be easy.

"What about you James?" M'gann asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Your powers, we all saw your claws-" she began shyly, still walking on eggshells from earlier.

"Yeah did you get your claws chrome dipped like Wolverine or-" Wally started before Robin shot him a look through his sunglasses.

James smiled, "It's ok Robin." he said before looking at everyone, "See Wolverine has bone claws, but after he had adamantium fused with them, the metal became part of his powers. My claws and bones are apparently coated in it naturally." he explained.

Wally looked a little confused, "Wait, if your claws are part of your bones, then doesn't that mean you cut yourself whenever you…." he began, but was unable to find the proper words to describe the action.

"Pop my claws?" he asked before taking out the claws on his right hand, "Yeah, but my healing factor takes care of that. I can heal from most anything." he explained.

Superboy looked at him quizzically, "But doesn't that….well, hurt?" he asked. Everyone seemed to realize what he was getting at, if he cuts through himself every time he let's his claws out, then it has to hurt then.

James shrugged, "Well yeah, duh. I mean they are razor sharp unbreakable blades poping through my skin, it doesn't tickle. I got a healing factor, doesn't mean I'm invincible." he started. "I mean it's not the worse thing. I kinda burned my hands getting the cookies earlier but see? All better." he said, showing his healed palms to the others.

"Dude why didn't you say anything?" Wally asked, somewhat shocked he let himself get burned.

Jame shrugged again, "Wally it's not the worst thing I've been through. I've been stabbed, shot, mauled, blown up, nearly eaten, and fallen out of a plane without a parachute. Second degree burns by comparason is like getting stung by a few wasps." he said nonchalantly.

"...wait how did you fall out of plane?" Robin asked.

"You have met my dad's clone right? This can't be a surprise." Before the conversation could be carried further, the com came to life.

Red Tornado to Miss. Martian. An emergency alert has been triggered At the Happy Harbor power plant. I suggest you investigate. Covertly. I'm Sending coordinates.

After adjusting course, Robin spoke up, "He's keeping us busy again."

Miss. Martian shrugged, "Well a simple fire led you to Superboy. We should find out what caused the alert." she said as she diverted the ship to hover over the power plant in stealth power plant was simple in design, there were three smokestacks together in the front woth a long rectangular building beside it.

"I think i know the cause." Superboy said, causing the others to look the way he was, tearing through the parking lot was a gigantic tornado! Miss. Martian hit the throttle, trying to get the ship out of the way of the twister. The ship made it a few feet away before being pulled into the storm. The momentum shift caused everyone to go through whiplash, thankfully the ship managed to break free of the twister.

Landing in the parking lot, the bottom of the bio ship split apart, letting thr team drop onto the concrete. They watched as the tornado went around the side of the building, "Robin, are tornados common in new england?" Aqualad asked, when he got no answer, they all turned to see the boy wonder was gone.

"How the hell did that little squirt-" James started before a eco of a laugh traveled over the parking lot. The sound of shattering glass made them all look towards the building, windows were being blown out by gusts of air. "Never mind." he said before they all charged off towards the power plant. Entering through the large open doors, Superboy leapt ahead to a knocked down Robin.

"Who's your new friend?" he asked before jumping toward the bafd guy. He was massive, standing over ten feet tall, the robotic body was red in color with black going down his chst, around his arms and feet, as well as a black line down his face over it's glowing blue eyes. On it's back ere blue tubes that connected to his hands.

"My apologies. You may address me as Mr. Twister." he said as he summoned forth two mini tornados at Superboy. He tried to walk through them but was swirled up and thrown over their heads.

James grinned, "Alright Mr. Twister." SHINK! "Try us." he said as wally sped onwards towards him, diving forward, he swung his legs overhead so they would crash into Twister, but a swirling vortex caused him to go around him and out the gateway behind him. He turned to see Aqualad, Miss Martian, and James closig in, however a tornado barreled at them, sending Aqualad into James and both of them into a brick column.

"Ok so trying to stab him head on isn't going to work." he muttered as he helped Aqualad up, looking at Twister, he caught sight of a catwalk on the wall above him, "Any chance you guys can get his attention?" he asked, Kaldur fallowed his gaze and nodded. While the others drew his attention, James made his way up the stairs to the catwalk. As Miss. Martian ripped oen a steam vent over his head, Superboy lept in the air toward Twister.

The robot created a updraft, making him slam into the metal support beams overhead and falling on Miss. Martian. While Aqualad and Robin ran around them, James got into position overhead and leapt down, dropping onot Twister's back and stabbing his claws into his shoulders. "Better not be guy in this thing 'cuz im gonna-" James started before the robot suddenly spin around like a top, the speed was too much and James was flung off towards Robin and Aqualad.

"Indeed. That was quite turning." Twister said as he made a updraft to carry him out the way Wally went.

James groaned as he got up, "I didn't shank you guys did I?" he asked, sheathing his claws as he got up. That little fiar ride was making his head spin.

"We're fine. Come on, let's get after him!" Robin said as he helped Aqualad up onto his feet. The group made their way outside as Kid Flash was caught in a twister and flung over towards the side of the building. Miss. Martian raised her hand, stopping him in midair, "I got you Wally." she said before letting him drop to the ground.

"I would have thought you all learned your limitations by now." Mr. Twister taunted, James gritted his teeth, he hated it when the bad guys taunt him.

"What do you want?!" Aqualad demand as Mr. TWister lifted himself up into the air, out of all their reach.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm waiting for a real hero." he explained.

"Yeah? Well people in hell want ice water but you don't see them getting any!" James back, trying to get this guy to shut up.

Aqualad looked to Miss. Martian, "Read his mind, find a weakness." he ordered, the martian looked at him confused. "But I thought I wasn't supposed to do that?" she asked. James wanted to facepalm, but Rbin spared him, the trouble when he said it was ok to do it to bad guys. She concentrated but her brow scrunched in aggravation, "Nothing, I'm getting nothing!" she said before realizing something, she bumped her head with her palm, "Hello Megan! Mr. Twister is Red Tornado in disguise! He's inorganic, an android! And how many androids do you know that can generate tornadoes?"

James slapped his palm against his forehead, he just felt plain stupid, "If it was snake it would've bit me fifty damn times by now!" he said in agitation.

"Red Tornado sent us here." Aqualad added.

"And he said that we'd be tested soon. Something to keep us busy." Robin added in as well, adding fuel to the fire.

Wally stepped forward, "Speedy called. We're a joke." he said bitterly, making Kaldur slam his fist into his hand. "This game? So over." he added, clearly fed up with this treatment.

As Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Robin stepped forward and confronted him, Mr. Twister raised both his hands up into the air, creating two vortexes that made the sky around him darken. "An impressive display. But we will not indulge you! We will not engage!" Aqualad called out.

"What he means is cut the smoak and mirrors bullshit!" james called out before lightning crackled behind Twister.

"Um can Red Tornado do that?" Kid flash asked as they all took a few cautious steps back.

"You think I'm Tornado? How Ironic." Mr. Twister said before a large bolt of lightning tore across the ground at the team, blowing them all away from the electricity.

James had survived a lot, but electrical attacks were a real pain for him. Because his skellington was made of meta,he felt like a lightning rod in a thunderstorm. As Twister started talking, James could feel most his internal organs were burned. He'd need a few minutes to heal, but he didn't have that. He slowly pushed himself up off the ground, blood leaked out of his mouth as he did but when he was upright, he saw Twister was flying away. "Yeah. You…..better...run.." he mumbled before coughing out some blood.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, "James are you alright?" Kaldur asked weakly. James held his hand out with all fingers pointing out, five seconds and he could talk without losing a pint of blood. When Superboy smashed a rock in anger, he wanted to stab him.

"And that's supposed to make it right?" he asked the others before walking over to Miss. Martian, "Your tricked us into thinking Twister was Red Tornado?!" he pointed out to the others.

"Yeah? Well Did anyone else see any reason to doubt her?" James asked, swallowing the metallic taste in his mouth down as he stood up. The others looked at him, the entire left side of his face was burned. M'gann felt guilt wash over her, but after a few seconds, the burned flesh stretched back over his face into what it looked like before. "What? Are my eyebrows gone?" he asked.

Wally shivered a little, "That's a little unsettling."

James cracked his neck, "Yeah well get used to it. And no one else had any ideas, so she's not the one to blame, we all are." he pointed out to the others.

Wally sighed, looking at Miss. Martian, "Look, you're just a little inexperienced. Go hit the showers, we got this." he said. James wanted to argue, but in a way Kid Flash was right, they all had more experience than she a sigh, he turned away and took off in the direction that twister went.

III

O

* * *

After a few minutes of running through the forest, James felt that his healing factor had done it's job for now. "So how's it going burn victim?"

"GAH!" James yelped out at Robin's voice. "Jezus! How does someone who smells like bat guano sneak up on me?!" he asked. Robin glared at him from behind his shades, "Hey it's true. You got any plans for Twister? Because us rushing him hasn't exactly paid off." he asked.

Robin shook his head, "He's gotta have a weak point structurally, maybe a power scourge? Or maybe his joints?" he pondered before diving towards a fallen tree and flinging himself off it while James slid under it.

"I stabbed his shoulders earlier, didn't slow him down. But Those glowing tubes may be something. Could probably take out his eyes too. Robot or not he has to have sight." James suggested, thinking of where he attack.

The boy wonder nodded, they were plausible weak points to strike. "He'll be out in the open so try and get to cover and hit his blind side." he advised as they finally made it out of the forest along with Aqualad. Superboy and Kid Flash were already engaged with the robot. Jumping onto the trunk of a car, James sprung off and piped his claws out.

Twisted turned towards the trio and sent two whirlwinds at them, causing them to split up in order to avoid it. Aqualad evaded the winds and charged forward, but as he closed in Twister spun up the air around him and tossed him into the support beam of a old colonial house.

James circled around him as Kid Flash cane at his opposite side. Me. Twister turned to the speedster and summoned another tornado. Wally was flung over his head and landed in a roll towards James. The tracker leapt overhead with his claws raised at Twister, he was met with a forceful wind to his face, sending him flying before crashing into a boat that had been thrown into the middle of town.

Rolling onto his feet, he saw that a board had embedded into his shoulder. Yanking it it, he tossed it aside as another boat flew overhead towards superboy.

Robin and Kid Flash joined him behind cover. "Dude that's-" he started, watching as James's wound healed up. "...actually that's kinda cool." he said before they both noticed Robin slip his utility belt from his sleeve and wrap it over one solider. "You brought your utility belt?" he asked disbelievingly.

"Never leave home without it. First thing Batman taught me!" the acrobat said proudly.

James shrugged, "Hey I ain't complaining. But unless you got a WMD, I'm thinking we may need backup." he said.

 _'Listen to me, all of you.'_ Miss Martian's voice rang in all their heads. _'I know! And I know I messed up, but now I'm very clear on what we need to do. Please, trust me.'_ she asked.

James looked at Kid Flash and Robin. "Hey I don't see any reason not to listen." he said.

After she explained her plan, James and the others rushed all together towards Twister. That was until Red Tornado floated in from above, "Hit the showers boys. I was hoping you could handle this. Clearly, you cannot." Red Tornado said.

"But we have a plan now!" Robin said in protest.

"The subject is not up for debate." he said simply. The group disbanded, getting into position.

When Red Tornado was down, James watched as Twister's fingers pulled apart and revealed plug ins that attached to his head. Suddenly, Red Tornado turned over and grabbed the wires, his face shifting into Miss. Martian's. "Longer than you might think." she said before a psi blast knocked him back into a Tornado Wally made by spinning around in a circle.

Tornado was flung towards Superboy, he locked his arm around Twister's and punched a hole through him before knocking him into the water where Aqualad was waiting underwater.

Kaldur slammed a anchor into Twister before running a electrical current through it and blowing him back onto show, now missing a arm. As he began to get up, James rises in from behind and sliced the tubing off his back, making sparks fly as M'gann lifted him up into the air and Robin threw explosive bird discs at him.

Twister landed like a rock, making a small crater in the ground. As the team closed in Around him, he got up onto his knees, and then something unexpected happened.

His chest cavity opened, and out fell a skinny man in a unitard. "Foul! I-I call foul!"

"...please tell me I didn't get my ass kicked by this twig." James muttered to himself. If Laura found out, he would never hear the end of it. James sheathed his claws.

Right before a rock crushed him. James jumped back in shock, he looked over to see Megan with her hand raised. "WHAT THE HELL MEGAN ARE YOU CRAZY?!" he yelled.

Robin stormed over to her, "Don't know how they do it on Mars, but on Earth? We don't execute prisoners!" he yelled angrily.

She smirked, "You said you trusted me." she said before lifting the rock, showing that the man wasn't a man, but another robot.

James blinked, "Ok that's just overkill." he said as Wally picked up a synthetic eyeball.

"Cool. Souvenir." He said simply before throwing it up in the air and catching it.

James gave him a blank look, "Dude. Come on. His eye?"

"What? Robot eye." he said, holding it out to the young man.

James simply rolled his eyes before looking at the robots. "So….how do we get all this back to base?"

III

O

"This thing was clearly made to fight you. But when it thought it beat M'gann, it tried to do something to her. Like…upload a virus or something." James pointed out, recalling the fight from earlier.

The androids were both spread out on the table for display. It took short time to get the remains onto the bio ship with a speedster and telepath, Red Tornado had informed the League of what transpired as they got back so they were in the loop.

"Agreed." Red Tornado said.

"Is that why you didn't help us?" Miss. Martian asked, thinking to how he declined to help them deal with Twister in the first place.

"No. This was your battle. I do not believe it is my role to solve problems for you. Nor you solve mine." he explained, causing everyone to stare at him. After calling the matter closed, Robin made a comment about a heartless machine in charge which Red Tornado caught him on.

As he walked off, James put his hands behind his head. "So is this gonna be what we do every mission?" he asked out loud, "Because if so? I'm so in." he said with a grin.

Wally rushed over and patted his back, "Wouldn't be the same without you Wolvie."

"God I hate code names. Just call me James." he muttered as he, Aqualad, and Robin walked down the hall towards the kitchen and lounge area. "So…..anyone up for a victory movie?" he asked.

"Oh oh oh! Me!" Wally said excitedly.

Robin shrugged, "Eh, why not?"

"It has been a while since i have seen a surface film." Kaldur said in agreement.

James grinned, "Well I hope you guys like classics." he said, thinking of his DVD of The Thing in his room. He turned back to see if Megan or Superboy wanted to join, but he saw her look at him.

"I'm sorry." he apologized before catching up with the others. Miss Martian smiled before joining them.

 _I think I'm gonna like it here._

 **AN: Man my hands are killing me. I hope you guys know I'm doing this because I love you guys. So another chapter down and god knows how many to go.**

 **Now as you may or not know, there was a companion comic that went along with the tv show. The thing with Superboy and the Genome from Cadmus mentioned in the beginning is one of them, the first one in fact. So I'll be having those stories in here as well.**

 **Till next time.**


	3. Chapter 3: Campfires and Black Ops

**Campfires and Black Ops.**

 **Mount Justice. July 20th 2010 21:32 p.m.**

It had been two days since Mr. Twister both appeared and was disassembled by the Team, the League was still looking for the source of the android but so far had nothing to go on. Lura had tried to track the machine back to it's owner but it proved futile, the scent became too muddled with the air currents that Twister had created. Making it all but impossible to find the machine's maker.

But James wasn't going to complain about two days of silence. Right now, he and Wally were watching TV, or more precisely they were trying to find something to watch. "Seen it, seen it, seen it, seen it, don't want to see it." Wally said as he flicked through channels. He was on the couch with a bunch of junk food on the cushions and table in front of it. James was laying on another couch to the left of the table, a similar bored expression on his face.

"Even with six hundred channels on how can there be absolutely nothing on?" he asked as he rubbed his eyes with his fingers. He was all for having some down time between his missions, but why bother even having time to yourself when you have nothing at all to do? "I guess we could go read." he suggested. Wally looked at the other hero like he grew another head, "Ok yeah you're right that sounds dumb." he said as M'gann behind the couch wally was sitting on and walked in front of the kitchen's marble counter top.

Wally swooshed around the couch in front of M'gann, leaning on the counter top as he greeted her. James rolled his eyes at the speedster, Wally was bit of skirt chaser with girls, especially with M'gann. He didn't see anything wrong with it anyway, but after a while it starts to get cringe worthy. He did feel a little pity for M'gann, she was the only girl on the Team and she clearly didn't understand Earth customs, so he was being nice to her and she was being nice back.

 _Better add innocent to that whole lost pup thing she has going on_. James thought as Wally rushed off out of the room after speaking with M'gann about something. "One of these days he is going to run and trip and I'm going to laugh at him." he said as he walked over to Wally's spot and grabbed the remote and turned off the TV.

"James, would you like to join me and Wally and go camping with us?" the Martian asked politely as he began to clean up after Wally. The idea did sound appealing, James loved camping, however he didn't want to spend night keeping an eye on Wally and M'gann…...but if he had some help…

"Sure I'd love too. We could make it a Team activity. Tell you what, you go get Superboy and I'll find Kaldur and Robin." the tracker said with a grin. By the time Wally returned with enough camping equipment for two, he found five others ready and willing to rough it as well. As the others went to gather some additional supplies, Kid Flash glared at his friend, James raised his hands, "Hey she invited me and the others…..so where are we camping?" he asked curiously.

III

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James was not a happy camper. "This is not camping." he said, crossing his arms as he leaned against a tree trunk with Superboy sitting on top of it beside him as he roasted a marshmallow over the firepit they had put together. There were two tents, one for the guys, and one for Megan to use, across the fire was Robin and wally who were eating s'mores. While Megan took a plastic chair seat further back from the fire along with Aqualad. Both of them had a handicap when it came to fire, though Kaldur could be close to a fire and not be affected, too long and his body would start to 'dry up' so to speak.

"Stop your pouting and eat your food man, and I said campfire, not camping. I just planned to roast some s'mores. I hate camping outside." the speedster explained as he took a bite of his sweet. James let out a 'humph' at that. "Unless it's with someone special." he said, casting a look over his shoulder at the martian girl.

James gave Robin a deadpanned look, "He gets better I swear." he assured the tracker of the team, "Why?What's your idea of camping?" the boy wonder asked.

James thought back to Laura's little test she gave him after a month of training. "Being bare ass naked in the Canadian tundra with a note saying 'If you can't find food to eat, remember you grow back body parts' stapled to your chest." he said. Miss. Martian went beat red at the mention of him being naked, while Robin and Wally both howled in laughter "Yeah yeah laugh it up, but when you gotta resort to self cannibalism, then see if your laughing." he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Kaldur bumped both boys, "Excuse them, but why would your mentor put you through such a trail?" he asked curiously.

"Oh yeah! You never told us how you met X-23." M'gann noticed.

James thought it over, he's known his team mates for almost a month now, they deserve to know the truth. "Laura found me after I popped my claws for the first time. My mom and dad called her, she knew Logan and she's kept a eye on me since I was born." he explained rather simply.

"...well that's a bad origin story." Wally said before being elbowed by Robin.

"I got attacked by a wolf and had to kill it." James quickly added, the others went silent at that.

"Like…...out of reflex...right?" Wally asked. James frowned, sooner or later he knew it'd come to this.

"Ok, elephant in the room, figure of speech M'gann." he quickly added when he saw the Martian's face become confused, "If you heard of Wolverine, you probably know two things. One, he calls people 'bub' for some reason. And two, he's the best he is at what he does. And what he does…...it ain't nice." he said glancing down into the fire. "I get it, he's killed. X-23 has killed, heck she started when she was six. But…..they were both forced to kill, they didn't want to, they were both experimented on and programmed to kill." he said before looking down as his hands and taking his claws out. "These are weapons, but that doesn't mean I'm going to use them as weapons. I'm not a weapon. I don't want to be." he examined before recalling his claws back into his forearms.

He looked around to see the others were taking his words in, but then Wally spoke first. "Dude we were just asking about a wolf, you don't need to get deep on us." he said with a smile. "I mean Kaldur's a soldier for crying out loud. We get it, we don't want to do it obviously, but we get it." he said, speaking for the others who nodded in agreement.

"Miss. M did kinda crush a guy." Robin pointed out.

"He was a robot though, and last time I checked robots aren't alive." M'gann said in her own defense. "I mean Red Tornado has artificial intelligence but what says that all machines are living?" she asked curiously.

"Ghost in the Shell." James and Robin both said, the two looked at one another before ginning at one another. M'gann looked at the two with curiosity as to what they were talking about. "Uh, we'll explain later." James said, really or wanting to get into a story that complex with her.

The Canadian smiled, he felt a small weight lift off his shoulders. His friends clearly didn't hold it against him, he looked over to see Superboy was deep in thought about something. James elbowed his shin, getting his attention from whatever he was thinking, "Come on I just spilled my guts, you better do the same…..metaphorically I mean." he added, making sure he didn't confuse him or M'gann.

The clone sighed, "You said that your sister, Laura, she was made in a lab…like how I was at CADMUS." he explained, he explained. "I mean, I was in a pod for most of it,most of my memories are implanted bits of information. Like I know every capital of the world but I Never had a s'more before tonight." he explained.

"So they just…..fed you information?" M'gann asked curiously. It sounded similar as to how they were taught on Mars, no verbal communication but instead the lessons were just implanted into their minds. "We had something similar on Mars but it was only for a short period." he explained.

Superboy nodded, "Sort of like that, yeah." he said in agreement, "I didn't really even start thinking for myself until after I got out." he explained, leaning forward and resting his forearms on top of his knees with a somber look upon his face.

M'gann looked at him inquisitively, "Well what kind of things do you think about?" she asked politely. The others were looking at him with moderate interest, except for Robin who looked like he was lost in his own private thoughts.

"The one thing...that's always on my mind…..is destroying Superman."

Wally choked on his marshmallow at that at while James, Kaldur, and M'gann looked at the clone in shock at his words. Meanwhile, Robin was still lost in his own thoughts. Wally saw that his friend was not really reacting to this news at all, "Earth to Robin! You hearing this!? He asked the boy wonder, snapping him out of his trance. "He said he wants to take down Superman!"

M'gann looked at the conflicted clone with concern in her eyes, "Are you serious Superboy?" she asked with worry in her voice.

Superboy looked away from everyone with an ashamed look on his face, feeling that he just isolated himself from everyone. "It's how I feel sometimes." he admitted honestly. James felt bad for the clone, "I mean what if that's why I was created? What if that's the only reason I was created?" he asked.

James shook his head, "Didn't you just help us save a small town from a dangerous android?" he asked, he lifted himself up onto the tree beside Superboy, "Look, Laura was brainwashed and Programmed to kill people, but she's in the freaking League. I think your good pal." he said, patting the kryptonian on the shoulder.

"Actions do tend to speak louder than words. And your actions have shown no ill will towards us or any other heroes." Kaldur said, showing his trust for Superboy. The others nodded in agreement, Superboy may have a bit of an anger problem but it didn't make him a bad person.

The clone smiled a tad, "Aw look, the Iron Giant has a heart after all." James said jokingly, Superboy glared at him before slugging his shoulder with enough force to send him off the log. "Ah! You dick…...dropped my marshmallow." James said as he got back on the fallen tree.

Robin got up from his spot on the ground and stretched his arms out above his head, "Well I don't know about you guys, but I think I've had one s'more too many. I'm going to hit the old sleeping bag." he said as M'gann and Wally followed his example.

"Yes! This has been such a wonderful evening but I'm excited to sleep in a tent." Megan said excitedly as she turned towards her tent.

Wally was quick to add in, "I'm right behind you." he said before both Robin and James grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him back towards the Martian. "Fine, Fine, Fine. But next time we go camping, let's get out of the backyard ok?" he asked. James rolled his eyes, they were basically camping in the backyard of the cave, just a few yards away was the front entrance to the cave.

After Wally, Kaldur, and Robin entered the tent, James saw that Superboy was standing alone, looking up at the starry night sky. Walking over to him, James nudged him, "Look we all get thoughts like that." he said sympathetically. Superboy looked at him curiously, "Dude you've seen my claws, I've imagined stabbing a guy who shoots me in the face." he said before walking off towards the forest.

"Wait where are you going?" he asked.

"You thought I was sleeping asses to elbows with boy wonder, Kaldur, and the speedster? Hell no, I'm doing some real camping." he said as he walked off into the woods to find somewhere comfortable to lay down and sleep. Superboy blinked before deciding to hit the sleeping bag as well.

While James slept comfortably at the base of a tree, Superboy was sleeping cramped in a tent with his male teammates.

III

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* * *

 **Caribbean Sea. July 22nd, 2010. 20:08 p.m.**

It was only four days later that Batman had called the team together for their first official mission together, He explained that the island of Santa Prisca, home of the ingredients to create a Neo steroid called Venom, while their factories have been running at full capacity, all shipments of Venom had ceased. Which raised the obvious question, if they weren't making Venom, then what was being made in the factories?

The mission was a covert recon op, simply observe and report back to the League as to what is going on. They had left a while ago, by now the sky was dark and visibility was low. The team was loaded into the Martian Bioship and had took off from Happy Harbor, riding in silence most of the way. While the others wore their costumes, James himself wore something less…..flashy.

Grey cargo pants covered his legs with black combat boots on his feet, meanwhile his torso and arms were covered by a pitch black pullover with holes on the sleeves so his thumbs could fit through the, making the ends of his sleeves like gloves. They also had a small port for each of his claws on the sleeves. The zipper was pulled down, showing a half mask around his neck for him to pull up and cover half his face.

"Drop zone A in thirty." Miss Martian said, james pulled the mask up just below his nose. Aqualad stood up from his seat, the biomass from the chair sunk into the floor as he pressed the symbol on his belt. His red tank top shifted to black, blending with the tattoos of snakes going down his arms and ending at his wrists.

"Ready." he said simply as Miss. Martian changed the ship into camouflage mode, practically making it invisible to the untrained eye. The ship dipped down towards the water as it slowed in speed. In the ship, a hole in the floor spread open, Aqualad dived out into the water, swimming ahead of the ship onto the shore. There were heat and motion sensors on the shoreline made to detect aircraft, and while it was of alien design, the bioship gave off a heat sig like any other aircraft.

'Heat and motion sensors are patched. It is now in a continuous loop. Move in.' aqualad radioied to his teammates. They passed over his position and went further inland before the ship slowed to a stop, a few clicks away from the site of the factory. Say what you want about Batman but he can put a good plan together. James thought as he stood up from his chair,had they were in a pretty good position, any closer and they could get detected, any farther and they may take too long to get to the site.

With a wave of her hand, Miss. Martian repel lines come down from the ceiling. Clipping it onto his belt, James watched as Kid Flash pressed the white symbol on his chest with a red lightning bolt going through it. The yellow torso and mask of his suit changed to grey while the red pants, gloves, and boots turned black. Along with his goggles and Lightning tips on the ears of his mask. "How cool is this?" he boasted, gesturing to the stealth tec.

Miss Martian smiled, "Very impressive." she said simply before her entire body, save for her face, turned into a black suit with the red X going over her chesty. She looked like she was wearing what her Uncle J'onn only difference was she had a blue hood that attached to her cape.

"Um, that works too." Kid Flash said, not missing beat before looking at James and Superboy, "You guys sure you don't want the new stealth tec?" he asked.

James and Superboy looked at one another before Superboy crossed his arms over his chest, "No capes, no tights, no offense." he said, declining in his own way.

"It totally works for you." Miss Martian said, clearly not thinking as she caught herself,"In that you can...totally do good work in those clothes." she said, trying to recover by giving Superboy a thumbs he simply stared at her blankly before looking away, Miss. martian pulled her hood up, going invisible to hide her embarrassment. James reached over and patted her on the head sympathetically.

A moment later the bottom of the ship opened up once again, james, Kid Flash and Robin roped down to the ground while Miss. Martian merely floated down. They all looked up for Superboy to see him drop from the ship, they all scattered away as he hit the ground, making a small crater and a loud noise."Knew i didn't need a line." he said smirking.

"And yet creating a seismic event may not have helped much with the covert." Robin said, having dove to the base of a tree to avoid Superboy. As he stood up and the five of them gathered together.

"Aqualad. Drop B is go." Miss Martian radioed to the atlantean, providing a status report.

'Head for the factory. I'll track your progress and rendezvous ASAP.' Aqualad answered as the others gathered around Robin, his gauntlet projecting a holographic display of the island on a screen.

As the five took off towards the rendezvous point, James smirked beneath his half mask. This wasn't what he was at all expecting, but he was excited nonetheless. This wasn't his first covert op.

III

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 **Provence Canada, November 7th 2008, 16:45p.m.**

"Is that him?" James asked, looking through his pair of binoculars to the bar down below. He and Laura laid flat on top of the hill, overlooking a small pub where their target was supposed to be. Laura had caught wind of an arms trafficker meeting with a few clients from Gotham. They were meeting in a pub in the middle of nowhere. They had been waiting for the past three days living off what they killed in the forest, both of them taking turns for hunting.

Laura looked at who he was, "Yep that's him, so that means the shipment must be close by as well. You find the arms, I'll take care of the buyers and customers." she said before standing up along with James. The two made their way down the hill into the forest across the road from the pub.

Sniffing the air, James smelled the scent from the man who went into the bar, sprinting across the road he followed the scent to the parking lot as Laura walked to the bar. Entering the establishment, she looked around and saw the dealer sitting in a booth with five others. _Time to use my feminine wilds._ she thought, brushing her hair over her shoulder. Before making her way over towards the booth.

Five minutes later she was sent through the splintering door with a shotgun wound to her chest. Sitting up with her claws drawn, she grinned at the dealers, the target was missing his hand and his friends were thrown into a panic. "Everyone to the truck! Waste this bitch!" the dealer said, raising the sawed off shotgun he used to shoot her out of the bar. She rolled put of the way of the buck shot.

The dealer ran around the side of the bar towards his truck, he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the front cab of the semi on fire and the container shredded with claw marks, James was standing over the other men, each of them having a number of cuts and bruises. Despite the injuries, they were alive, despite the appearance.

"So. You wanna drop that gun? Or loose the other hand?" James asked, holding both his claws up menacingly.

III

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Santa Prisca

James smirked at the and him contacted the authorities and showed them the weapons that James had taken aside for evidence. The dealer was taken to jail, and they celebrated by getting the first real thing of food in three days. Back in the here and now however, they were making their way to the drug factory. They were currently moving around a cliffside, a waterfall covering them from view as Robin led the way.

After getting off the cliff and back into the jungle, Robin tapped his gauntlet, bringing up an aerial map of the island, James suddenly heard a twig snap about fifty yards away, taking a whiff of the air, his claws popped, getting everyone's attention."I hear movement up ahead, ten of them in all and all armed." he said, smelling the gunpowder on them. "Theyre…...goving towards each other, I don't think they-" he started before seeing Robin was gone, "Um…..where did the boy wonder go?" he asked.

'Kid, Superboy, see if you can spot the hostels.' Aqualad suggested to the team over the radio. Kid Flash and Superboy moved further up, Superboy using his infrared vision to look ahead while Kid used his goggles to do the same.

"Razor's right. Two groups up ahead, they'll meet each other before they see us." Superboy said before the sound of gunfire filled the air.

"No super senses required now." Kid Flash said as he pushed his giggles up and hopped over the rock he took cover behind and took a few steps forward.

'Swing wide and steer clear.' Aqualad advised, not wanting his friends to be spotted and compromise the mission.

"Yeah yeah as soon as I find Rob." Kid Flash said dismissively before taking off towards the gunfire and leaving his teammates behind.

"...please tell me we didn't just lose two of our teammates in the last five minutes." James said before taking off after KId with Miss M and Superboy following. Keeping track of Kid Flash was easy, with house fast he moves it's like a triathlon on the move. So when he misstepped and slipped down the side of the hill right in front of the gunmen, he knew right then he was gonna smack Wally upside the head later.

Thankfully Kid Flash didn't keep still, he was on his feet in a second, outrunning the bullets that sprayed his way. Now closer to the two groups. Razor got a better look at them, one group were straight up mercs, hired guns and nothing more, the others however all wore red robed uniforms with serpent like insignias on them. While Superboy tackled the leader of the Mercs, Razzor leapt from the bushes towards the guys in red.

Just as they raised their guns, James had cut through one of the assault rifles, he kicked the gunman in the chest, sending him into his friends who caught him, James pounced on all three, driving his claws into the shoulders of the men who caught the gunner as his feet landed on the gunner. The other two were unable to raise their weapons with their wounds, James sheathed his claws before uppercutting one and turning to kick the other into a tree.

Bullets prayed across his side, tearing into his skin as he let out a grunt of pain, when the magazines clicked empty, Razor turned to a trio of guys in red. Bullets embedded in James were forced b his healing factor, causing them to fall onto the ground. "That was...unpleasant." he said before popping his claws again.

Before he could attack however, the three were lifted into the air and thrown towards a tree as Kid Flash kicked a merch in the chin. James heard one run behind him, just as he was about to pounce, Aqualad dropped down in front of the thug and electrocuted him with his palm, the tattoos on his arms glowing blue.

With all of the gunners unconscious, the team tied the two groups to two separate trees, when they were finished, Robin spoke up. "I recognize those uniforms. They belong to the Cult of the Cobra." he said, looking over the men in red cloaks.

Razor dug his fingers into the bullet holes in his top, pulling a bullet out from inside his pullover, "Ok so since Batman didn't tell us I assume he didn't know these guys were here." he guessed.

Robin raised a hand to his chin as he thought it through, "Agreed, I'm betting Cobra tossed these other guys out. That's why venom supply lines have been cut off." he said proudly at his deduction.

Kid Flash rolled his eyes, "We get it, Cobra wanted super cultists. Radio Bats and we'll be-"

We can't leave, these guys aren't on Venom, Cobra is holding it. We don't leave, not until i know why" Robin said with determination, this led into a debate between Kid Flash and Robin.

Meanwhile, James and Aqualad stood off to the side watching the, "Much as i hate to agree to the kid who vanishes without a trace, he does have some good questions. Maybe we should stay and find out" he suggested to the Atlantean soldier. As Kaldur considered the options, James overheard one of the men tied up talking to the one Superboy took down. Unfortunately he didn't know spanish, he could speak was some French and a little Japanese that Laura had taught him.

As Robin's and Kid Flash's argument carried on, the man in the mask, Bane, chuckled. "Such clever ninos. But you only know half the story. Let me show you the rest, get you into the factory via my secret entrance." he offered as the team walked over to him.

James took a wiff of the air, his nose wasn't only good for tracking and revealing people. When someone lies, their body releases certain smell, but Bane didn't have the oder. "He's telling the truth, i can smell it on him." he said, crouching down in front of Bane along with Miss. Martian. She raised her hand to the side of her head and scanned his mind.

"There is a secret entrance, but he's also hiding something." she said before her eyes glowed white, trying to dive deeper into his mind..

Bane grinned, "Ah, ah, ah, chica. Bane is not that easy." he said confidently before Miss. M let out a huff.

"He's mentally reciting football scores en Espanol." she said before looking at the others, "This could take a while."

"It's not complicated." Bane began, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." he said simply. The team looked at one another, there were six of them, and Superboy was able to take him down on his own, if worse came to worse, they could probably take him down without a problem. James popped his claws and slashed Bane's ropes off.

"Do anything I we don't like? I cut your calf muscles and leave you for the crazy cultists." James threatened menacingly as he held his claws up to Bane's face.

III

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Bane led the group to a cliff overlooking the factory, approaching the edge, james sniffed the air, "We'll they're busy, can smell the gas fumes from here." he said as Robin took out a pair of binoculars and looked down at the factory.

"A buy is going down. But if Kobra's not selling to the usual suspects, then-" he started.

"We need to identify the buyer."" Aqualad finished.

"Just as I was thinking." Kid Flash added as Robin stood up from the cliff.

James rolled his eyes, this pissing contest was starting to get real old, real quick. But he held his tongue mostly because Bane was here, and this wasn't the time or place for a argument. He kept a eye on Bane as he walked over to a large rock and pushed it down revealing the secret tunnel he promised. As he headed into the ca e, the others were about to follow when Aqualad pulled James back, "Razor, I was hoping you could scout ahead for us, can you go on ahead and radio us details?" he asked.

James nodded, "Sure thing…...keep a eye on the man in the msk. He was hiding something after all." he pointed out, remembering what Miss Martian had said. Taking a step towards the cliff, James leapt off the ledge towards the forest below. As the trees got closer, he unsheathed his claws and dug them into the side of a tree, slowing his descent down so he could drop off the tree and head the rest of the way on foot.

The factory was less than a click away, James managed to get there within the timespan of ten minutes. When he reached the outer gate, he used his claws to cut through the wiring , making a small hole to crouch through. Thankfully most of the guards were out back near the helipad or inside. Approaching the building from the side, he saw a drainage pipe, crawling up it until he reached the windows, he unsheathed a claw to jimmy the window open before slipping inside. He tapped his finger to his ear, "Razor to team, I'm in the factory-" he started before hearong static. "Shit. Comms are down, and they don't know it." he muttered.

Making his way through the catwalks, he saw a room with the lights on inside. Making his way up the stairs that led into the room, he saw a single Kobra cultist at a computer console. Ames crept p behind him and grabbed the back of his cloak, pulling the chair down with him before punching him into the floor. Setting the hair back up he looked at the computers. "Note to self, ask Robin for hacking lessons." he mutttered.

"Aw I'm flattered." James turned around with his claws out at Robin, the acrobat jumped back, ""Woah! Friendly! Friendly!" he whispered loudly as the young man put his claws away.

"Well that's why you don't sneak up on me, or away from others, you get a claw in the brain. Now can you hack this?" he asked, gesturing to the computer. Robin simply cracked his knuckles before sitting down and getting to work. "They're jamming comms to, see if you can't-" he started before a sound caught his attention.

"What is it?" Robin asked.

"Helicopter, military grade transport. The buyer must be here to move the product tonight." he said as Robin worked. Looking out the window, he caught sight of the others hiding behind a stack of old crates, Kid Flash however ran into the room with a chocolate bar, "….seriously?" he asked.

"What? I have a serious metabolism." kid Flash said to his own defense before taking a bite and walking over to Robin at the computer. "Whatcha got?" he asked.

"Chemical formulas, I'm guessing it involves Venom but…." he trailed off as the screen showed a cellular structure.

Kid Flash gestured to the screen with the candy bar, "This one is Venom, and that one is...woah. The Blockbuster Formula from CADMUS." he said with shock. James had read the report on what happened at the lab, a scientist turned himself in a huge, super strong that had to have a building dropped on top of it in order to stay down.

"How did they get their hands on something CADMUS made? Wait, how did they mix it with Venom?" he asked, not seeing as how a bunch of cult members could do something that complex.

"Our buyer. He must have made the formula and gave it to Kobra to manufacture. Making a new superdrug." Robin said before reaching for his radio, "And radios are still jammed. Aren't they?" he asked, getting a nod from James. As Robin got to work on un-jamming the coms, James watched as the group made their way up to the catwalks.

That was until Bane jumped down and attacked two guards, "Aw what the-" through the window facin the helipad, a large hulking behemoth crashed down the catwalk that Superboy and Aqualad were on"-SHIT IS THAT?!" he yelled when he saw what must have been the Blockbuster/Venom test subject. He ran out of the room and across the catwalks as the fight broke out. "When I find that luchadore reject I'm gonna pop my claws up his nose!" he growled out as his razor sharp claws came out.

Jumping off the ledge, he collided with the Mammoth, knocking it away from Superboy, "You mind if I cut in? I need something that won't die if I cut into it." he asked as Mammoth got back up and roared at the two.

Superboy punched his fist, "BE my guest." he said they both charged forward towards the brute. Superboy lept at him, uppercutting him as James jammed his claws into his abdomen and slashed outward, making blood spray out and making the beast roar in pain before bringing bott it's fists down. James raised his hands into a X shape to block the blow. He was hit with enough force to crater the ground beneath him.

Superboy came at the monster from behind, but Mammoth turned around and grabbed his fist and swung him into Razor, sending the pair into a metal pillar. The two got up in time to roll out of the way of the drug user landing on them. Superboy threw his shoulder into the beast's side, sending him into james who slashed at his armpit. "That's one arm you're not using!" he yelled before stabbing him with his other claw.

Mammoth growled before grabbing James and throwing him through the catwalk and hitting the ceiling, he landed his chest onto a railing before pushing himself off onto the catwalk with a groan. _'Can everyone hear me?'_ Miss Martian asked in his mind.

 _'Yeah I'm here.'_ James thought to her.

 _'Good,we need to regroup.'_ Aqualad thought to everyone as James looked to where he and Kid were pinned down. _'Busy Now.'_ Robin said with irritation. James leapt to the walk across the gap and ran over to the Kobra goons, backhanding one over the walk and right hooking the other, giving Aqualad and Kid Flash room to move.

 _'Robin Now!'_ Aqualad thought harshly, hoping that the boy wonder would get the memo. James dropped from the catwalk and joined up with Aqualad and Kid Flash. The atlantean saw a group of Kobra blocking their exit. _'Kid clear a path.'_ he thought. Kid Flash nodded before sprinting over to them and knocking them down one at a time, clearing a path for the team with James bringing up the rear. He stopped at the door, watching as Superboy threw mammoth into a group of Kobra goons before joining him and closing the door.

Sprinting Down the tunnel, James heard the door get knocked off it's hinges, "Hey Supes, you ever play Jenga?" he asked, popping his claws as they passed wooden gateways holing up the tunnel. James cut through one as Superboy knocked down another, causing the ceiling above them to come down as they ran to the others. The dirt and smoke cloud covering the tunnel.

Slowing to a halt, James took a minute to catch his breath, "Ok, so that happened." he said as Aqualad broke a light stick apart, illuminating the tunnel and the cave in.

Robin stared at the collapsed tunnel with his hands on his hips, "How could my first mission as leader go so wrong?" he asked, disappointment in his voice.

Aqualad stepped forward, "You do have the most experience, but perhaps that is exactly what's left you unprepared." he suggested, making everyone look at him, "fighting alongside Batman your roles are…defined you two do not need to talk. But this team is new. And a leader must be clear, explicit, he cannot vanish and expect others to play parts in a unknown plan." he said wisely and with calmness.

"Oh so I'm supposed to hold everyone's hands?!" Robin yelled out with irritation. The boy wonder's anger only lasted a few seconds before calming himself down, "Ah who am I kidding? You should lead us Kaldur. You're the only one who can." he said with a smile. James shared it even as Wally let out a outburst, Kaldur told him to go scout ahead, just like he ordered everyone to fall back. He's a leader, even if he's too humble to admit it.

"You are the only guy I know who can give orders nicely." James said, showing his apporval.

Aqualad nodded humbly, "Thank you all…...now our first priority is making sure that shipment doesn't leave the island." he said as the others gathered around him."

III

O

As the group made their way down the tunnel, they compared notes, for one, Kobra doesn't have the resources or the skill to create the Blockbuster/Venom formula on their own. "I believe the term is-" he started before he stopped at the entrance to the tunnel, "-tip of the iceberg." he said as Bane walked into view. James could smell chemicals, looking up, he saw the doorway was laced with C4.

"Well, I was wondering where the six foot tall shitstain went." he growled our as his claws popped.

"Please. I just wanted my factory back." Bane began before he began talking. Just as Aqualad had intended.

 _'Kid you'll need a running start.'_ Aqualad said, Kid Flash slowly backed up into the tunnel.

 _'You know I could just cut his hand off…..just saying.'_ James thought.

 _'No.'_ Robin said adamantly.

 _'...a finger?'_

 _'NO!'_ everyone thought at him before Kid Flash zoomed past them and swiped the detonator out of Bane's hand before he could hit the switch. Before he could punch Kid, he was lifted into the air by Miss. Martian. Superboy smirked as he moved in below.

"Finally. Drop him." he said to M'gann. She did as he asked and he uppercutted Bane so hard he was knocked out. As they tied Bane up, James grabbed some of the C4.

"Hey would this work on a chopper?" he asked, tossing the block to Aqualad, he smirked. The team spent a few minutes planning what to do before heading out over the cliff, the same way James came. They arrived as the chopper was starting up and the buyer, a man known as Sportsmaster, walked towards it with a case.

Kid Flash rushed past him towards the guards, taking a number of them out before he had to run off and avoid gunfire. As the troops rushed off to deal with Kid Flash, Superboy landed between the leader of the Kobras beside Mammoth, and the chopper. "Going somewhere?" he asked smirking. Mammoth roared before charging, omy to be knocked aside by a turned of eater with James being pushed by it. James rolled aside to let the water douse Mammoth, cutting both his achilles tendon so he wouldn't go anywhere.

Joining Superboy, he asked, "So that's the big guy taken care of, where's-"he started before a explosion hit his back, making him go flying into some crates.

Pushing himself up from the crates, he could feel a large chunk of his back was missing, explosive rounds, he hated those stupid things. Turning around he saw that sportsmaster had Superboy pinned down and was holding Miss Martian in a chokehold. Getting up onto his feet, he started forward. Sportsmaster saw him approaching and focused fire on him, James rushed forward, ignoring the chunk of meat taken off his shoulder, his chest, his side of his neck, even his forehead, showing a bit of his metal skull,

 _'M'gann make your neck thin as possible!'_ he thought as he closed in, raising a fist as his side was shredded. As he got close, he popped two claws from his hand, leaving the one in the middle sheathed as he thrust forward towards Miss. Martian's neck. They missed her green skin and instead cut into Sportsmaster's arm, making him yell in paid as they both stumbled into the chopper. He threw M'gann at Superboy, knocking them both down before rolling over so that James was below him.

He leveled the gun in his face.

 _'This is gonna fucking hurt.'_ he thought as the machine gun shredded his face apart, blasting his eyes, nose and mouth off, and making James go limp.

"Razor!" Superboy yelled, him and Miss Martian trying to close in to try and maybe help but the door to the back of the chopper closed before automatically taking off. As they got up, he looked at Miss. Martian, "Don't blow it, we gotta get him back."

"Superboy….I don't have the detonator." M'gann said, not finding where it was last on her person.

Inside the chopper, Sportsmaster held his wound, he was bleeding a lot, but the wound was superficial, he'd live. "Sorry kid….but I'm betting you're worth something to my friends. Or who knows? Maybe those claws of yours are worth something." he said as he took his seat in the pilot's chair, 'Nothing personal, you were just in the wrong place in the wrong time."

"None taken." Sports Master's eyes widened, turning back, he saw that the teen's face was still healing, but he had one eye back and the muscle on his face was regrowing as well. I his hand was the detonator that M'gann had dropped when she was captured by Sportsmaster. He then noticed the charge of C4 planted on the crates of product. "Hey…..nothing personal." he siad cheekily before pressing the button.

Next thing he knew he was lown out the side of the chopper with the door. _'UM CAN SOMEONE HELP ME I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO FLY!'_ he thought loudly, hoping that M'gann was reading him loud and clear. He was falling towards the helipad. "Oh this is gonna suck." he said to himself, bracing for impact.

He stopped two feet short of the ground in mid air before being dropped. "Ugh….thank you" he grunted out as his team came rushing over, the explosion took away his liver, there was a big hole in his side and he could feel it was going to take a while.

"Dude! Your face! Your body! Your…...oh god I think I see guts." Kid Flash said in disgust as James covered his side with the hole in it. His eye still hadn't grown back so that must have been a little unnerving to see.

"Yeah…..I'm…..gonna need a few." he said as he tried to stand up but the pain making him sit back down. Superboy and Aqualad rushed over and each took a shoulder.

"Are you crazy?! He just…...he shot your face off! Superboy said angrily before a large explosion shook the area. They all looked over and saw that the helicopter crashed into the factory, blowing it up.

"...and I blew up his factory. I'd call it even." he pointed out before looking at Aqualad, "I'd hate being the guy to tell Batman all this." he said.

Robin burst out in laughter at that, that part of being a leader was something he wasn't looking forward to.

III

O

 **Mount Justice. August 4th 2010, 1:06 EDT**

James healed on the way back to the cave, by the time they pulled in the hangar he was walking down the ramp as though nothing had happened. However when Batman came to the cave a few days later, he wished he was in sick bay so he could be excused from getting chewed out.

"A simple recon mission, observe and report." Batman said, looking Kaldur dead in the eye before walking in front of the lined up team, "You will each receive a written evaluation detailing your MANY mistakes. Until then…...good job." that ere comment made everyone look over at him in surprise. "No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy. How you adjust to the unforeseen is what determines success, and how you choose who leads determines character. He turned his back to them, "Everyone but Razor is dismissed."

 _'Dun dun dun I am gonna die.'_ he thought as he gulped.

Robin patted him on the shoulder, _'Don't worry. Healing factor, remember.'_ he reminded him before snickering in his head.

When it was just him and Batman in the room, he turned to him and James gulped. Laura may be a killing machine, but Batman beats her when it comes to intimidation. "What happened with Sportsmaster?" he asked.

James thought back to the encounter, while most of his face got blown off he still heard what he said. "He said he thought I might be worth something to a few friends-"

"That's not what I meant." he intruppted, shutting him up. "You ran head first into explosive gunfire and nearly stabbed Miss Martian." he said bluntly.

James looked down in shame. He knew if he was off by much he could have hurt M'gann, "I knew I could take it-'

"And your team mates?" Batman asked, James didn't respond, "Your abilities allow you to take punishment, they understand that, but seeing it firsthand is something different." he said, making James look up at him. "There no way that you can assure it won't happen. In fact I expect it will, but keep in mind that seeing someone torn to pieces and keep on walking is not something they've seen before." he said before turning back around. "That is all. You're dismissed." he said.

James nodded before turning around and heading the way his teammates went. Batman did have a point, Wally was freaked out by the state he was in when they found hi. And superboy was clearly worried about him. As he entered the lounge, Wally zoomed up to him, "What'd bats want with you?" he asked with a grinning, wanting to know how badly his teammate got chewed out.

James rubbed the back of his neck, "Not that bad but…..look, what happened on the island, I'm sorry you guys had to see that." he said apalogeticaly, making everyone look at him. "I know I say i can take a lot of damage, and I can, but…...I'm used to it. You guys aren't. So I'll try not to scar you guys for life when I get hurt." he said honestly.

Wally sracthed the back of his neck, "Thanks man…..but I mean your face did get blown off. How else do you expect us to react?" he asked.

"Yeah that was not fun." James muttered as Kaldur patted his shoulder.

"We are just glad you're still here with us my friend." he said honestly.

James smiled at his friends, "Thanks guys….so first offical mission…..hat do we do to clebrate?" he asked, the others looked around, "...Pizza?" he suggested.

Wally zoomed away from him, the five looked at the way he went and a few minutes later he returned with a few stacks of pizza boxes, "Mission Pizza!" he scheered before setting the pizza down and diggging in.

"Wally!"

"Someone hold him down before he eats it all!"

 **AN: Wow another one down. Man I need to use a laptop more often. So as you guys can clearly see this chapter, things can get graphic with this story. Now a few people have asked if James will be paired with someone in this story. The answer is yes, he will, I will not reveal who it is yet but there will be a pairing. Until next time guys.**

 **ALERT ALERT ALERT! SEASON 3 HAS BEEN OFFICALLY CONFIRMED! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!**


	4. Chapter 4: Schooled

Schooled

 **Manhattan New York. August 3rd 2010 7:38 am.**

James had decided to come visit and see how Laura was doing after his first mission. She had read over what happened and was both proud of him for completing his very first mission with his teammates, and angry that he did something as stupid as getting himself blown up. "I should tell your parents. I'm sure they'd love to hear that." she said as they walked towards the Zeta tube. The League had gotten another one setup besides the one at the bridge, this one was in a alleyway beside a subway station entrance.

James rolled his eyes at his pseudo-sister, "Yeah, yeah…...you know I need to visit them soon. Last time I saw them was when I made a surprise visit at Sammy's hockey game." he pointed out, he regularly called and video chatted with his adoptive parents almost weekly, when it couldn't be done he would be sure to send a message in advance so they wouldn't worry. His little brother didn't talk as much with him, but when they did it was short and sweet.

Laura rolled her eyes as they passed a small cafe, the TV hanging on the wall outside got their attention, on the screen was a news copter of was the image of a school bus hanging off the side of a bridge. A red and blue blur of color flew past the scene and to the bridge. "So you like on the team? Because I know it was my idea and it was pretty last minute-" she started before James bumped her shoulder.

"I love it on the team, you know how long it's been since I got to hang out with other normal…..hang out with other people my own age?" he said, correcting himself and using a more precise description. He watched as on the television, Superboy appeared, saving a few cars by himself before trying to help with the School Bus, "Speaking of which there's one now." he said, gesturing to the screen as Superman flew up and hoisted the the bus up by himself. As he landed in front of Superboy, James's smirk faded. He and Superboy were pretty good friends, well as good as you can be with when all he does is brood. But he always smelled the anger on him when Superman was brought up.

James could tell that big blue was not exactly interacting well with Superboy, "So how has he been dealing with having a clone?" he asked before they both continued on their way.

Laura let out a huff, "He doesn't even acknowledge him. I mean I haven't brought it up but when someone mentions his name I can feel someone look over at me. Is being a clone a bad thing?" she asked, she saw herself as many things, a fighter, a hunter, a warrior, a killer, a weapon, and above all a hero. But a clone? She didn't see what was wrong with it, it was just part of who she was.

James shrugged, "Well you should talk to him about it. I mean to be fair, it is awkward to deal with. You're a clone of my dad. So does that mean your my aunt? I mean that's how I thought about it at first." he explained.

Laura thought back to Logan, he was just so…...accepting of her, so he had a clone, big whoop. He also had a adamantium skellington but he didn't beat around the bush on that. But he saw her as his daughter, plain and simple. He stuck by her like a father would even when she was difficult. But they got that way because they talked through it, just like she did with James. "Well we could always just lock them together in a room, see what happens." she suggested as they entered the alleyway where a old phone booth was. "You're coming for pasta night right?" she asked.

James elbowed her shoulder as he passed her, "Hell yeah. See you tonight." he said before stepping into the booth, a flash of yellow light teleporting him away from New York and all the way to the cave in Boston.

When the light faded away he walked into the Mission room. Finding Kid Flash zooming through a few monitors he had brought up, "Hey Wally?" he asked, walking over to see what he was doing."Uhhhhh…...what are you up to?" he asked, watching as his fingers blurred across a hardlight keypad.

"I'm looking through the computer to see how it ticks, figured if we're gonna be using this puppy might as well see how it works." he said, his eyes not leaving the three screens he had up. The words were going so fast on them that they gave James a headache trying to keep up with them, he figured that superspeed made speed reading into lightspeed reading, "Wait….what's this?" he asked before selecting a fire, making the screens disappear and a holographic table with no legs appear in midair.

"Is that….is that air hockey?" James asked, somewhat surprised to find that of all things in a former Justice League base.

Kid Flash and him looked at at the table before looking at one another, "Dude. You game?" Kid asked, zooming over to one side of the table.

James walked over to the other side and put his palm against the hologram, a puck appearing on the board, "You're on."

III

O

"Ok I call bullshit." James said, watching as Wally and Aqualad were taking their turn at the game. He, Robin and found the two playing and decided to start a tournament. Right now they were at the top brackets and Aqualad had just missed the puck, making Wally score, "How do we know he's not using superspeed to cheat?" he asked as Wally took a bite of a banana he had gotten from the kitchen.

Before anyone could speak, the Zeta tube speakers came on, 'Recognized, Superboy B04.' the machine said as the clone walked with a irritated look on his face, M'gann smiled warmly at him. "Hi Superboy, how was Metropolis?" she asked in a friendly tone. Superboy ignored her as he walked through the table, closing the program. A cough, made everyone look to see Black Canary and Martian Manhunter walking towards the team. "Black Canary, Uncle J'onn!" M'gann greeted her uncle with excitement as she walked over and gave him a hug.

As she and her uncle talked, Superboy turned to leave but was stopped by Black Canary. "Stick around. Class is in session." she said before waking to the middle of the floor, circle of light started at her feet before spreading out into the full circle on the floor. "I consider it a honor to be your teacher, i'll throw a lot at you, everything I've learned from my own mentors," he staeed as she slipped off her blue jacket with a wince, leaving her in her grey leggings, combat boots, and sleeve gloves with a bandage around her left bicep. "And my own bruises." she said before holding the wound.

"What happened?" M'gann asked with a little concern.

"...The Job." Black Canary replied simply. "Now, combat is about controlling conflict. Putting the Battle on your terms. You should always be acting, never reacting. I'll need a sparring partner." she said, looking around the group of young heroes. James was a little excited, Laura told him that Black Canary was one of the best combatants in the world. Laura didn't exactly train him in combat styles, mainly because most of the combat forms that Laura knew were very deadly and used strictly for killing others.

He raised his hand, "I'll try." he said, taking a step forward so that he was in front of Canary, "Um…..just a warning, all my bones are covered in metal." he said, last thing he wanted was to give the instructor a broken hand.

She smirked, "Thanks for the warning." she said before throwing a right hook at the tracker. He raised his forearm to block it, he retaliated by jabbing his fist out towards her, she rolled around, slamming her elbow on the back of his head, making him lean forward before she leaned forward and craned her foot back and kicked him in the face. She leaned back upright, stretching her arm out she brought it forward and clotheslined him, making him fall back onto the ground where a a circle appeared in the ground with the branch reaching out from the circle with the word 'failed' in red on the end. "Well...good block."she said, a slight hint of disappointment in her voice before reaching down and helping him up.

"Now, what happened?" She asked the others as James got back up on his feet, he noticed the slight disappointment in her tone, he knew he wasn't that much of a skilled fighter in hand to hand but…...he knew that Logan was one of the greatest fighters in the world, And he IS Wolverine's son, makes sense that his son would be good as well.

"He took a beating?" Wally asked, making the tracker glare at hi. "What? You kinda just let her hit you." he pointed out. Sometimes James hated Wally.

"Right," she said before looking at James, "You're tough, durable, and you heal from everything, but you're taken out of the fight when your healing." she explained, James thought about it, that was how his fights usually went, "So….how do I get better?" he asked. Black Canary smirked, "Experience, the more you fight the better you get, but you also let me dictate the terms of-"

"Please." Superboy interrupted, making Canary look over at him, james started backing away, How the pod never taught him to not talk back is astounding, "With my powers the battle is always on my terms, I'm a living weapon. And this is a waste of my time." he said.

Black Canary's face became determined, "Prove it." she challenged. Superboy looked at her before walking over, they both stared each other down before getting into a fighting stance. Superboy threw a left jab, Canary sidestepped it before grabbing the arm and throwing him over her shoulder onto the ground. James didn't know if he should wince in pain or be impressed. He got back up, now clearly angry, he charged at her, she vaulted over top him and landed in a crouch she swept her leg out and made him go down again.

James was starting to feel less bad that he got beaten so easily.

"That's it, I'm done." Superboy said as he got back up and was about to storm away.

Black Canary reached out and grabbed his shoulder, "Training is mandatory." she said simply with a bit of force behind her voice.

Before Superboy could respond, a screen came up as the alert sounded throughout the base. On the screen was none other than the Batman, 'Batman to cave. Five hours ago, a new menace Green Arrow and Black Canary.' he began as the image of the mentioned foe came up on the monitor, it looked humanoid, but was giant by normal standards, it had green pants, no shirt, orange hair, red eyes, and pointed ears. And it clearly was not human, 'The attacker then duplicated the powers and abilities of its opponents. Arrow called in reinforcements, which proved nearly disastrous, as our foe gained more and more power with each new combatant.'

That sent a chill down James's spine, someone with every superpower of anyone in the world? That sounded like something that could take over the world. 'In the end it took eight leaguers four hours to defeat and dismantle the andriod.'

"An android? Who made it professor TO Morrow?" Robin asked the screen.

'Good guess Robin. But Red Tornado doesn't think so.' Batman responded.

J'onn spoke up, "The design shows the work of Professor Ivo." he explained, James heard the name before, he was one of the League's earliest threats, making new opponents for the team to fight. But he was thought to have died….apparently not.

'To make certain this permanently neutralized, we're sending two trucks carrying the android's parts to two separate Star Labs facilities, one in Boston and another in New York for analysis. Every precaution is being taken, we'll have four additional decoy trucks to create confusion in case Ivo, or anyone else, tries to recover the remains. You will split into two teams to safeguard the two real trucks.'

James raised a hand,"Batman, if there's a risk of the parts being reassembled, why not destroy a few components so the android can't be reassembled?" he asked, unless they needed every part of the machine, did they need to take the risk.

'That is what the original plan was, however while the parts are not functioning, they are still adapting to whatever we try to use on them,trying to destroy them has proven Labs has the facilites that can neautralize this adaptiblity and allow us to analiyze and destroy the remains.' Batman explained.

"So we're your delivery boys now?" Superboy asked before James elbowed him. Back Talking to Canary was one thing, but this is the goddamn Batman!

'You have something better to do?' Batman asked in return.

The boy of steel stayed silent as Aqualad received coordinates, as they walked away, James saw Canary give Superoy a pat on the shoulder. "When you're ready, I'll be here." she said reassuringly. As Superboy walked away, James couldn't help but wonder what happened to make him this pissed. Ok he's always pissed but now he's just being a dick to everyone. James thought as Canary came up to him next. "Um….sorry about Supey, I swear he's usually better…...not by much but still."

She smiled at him, "He'll be ok, it's actually you I was hoping to talk about." she said. James inwardly sighed, _Here it comes_. "When Laura told me that she train you that much in combat, I thought she was exaggerating." she said, making him look at her surprise. This was going a different direction than he was expecting.

He rubbed the back of his neck, "Oh….that's it? I'll be honest, I thought you were disappointed because…..well Logan was-" he started.

"Don't." Canary intrupted, "James, how many times have you fought someone with powers besides Laura?" she asked, James had to think about that, before he helped fight Mister Twister all he had fought were normal humans….In fact he couldn't take down Sportsmaster without being knocked out of the fight right away. "You may have been doing this for a while, but your one of the members of this team who don't have experience. You think Logan was good? I wiped the floor with hi first time we sparred." she said with a smirk. "Give it time." she said reassuringly.

James smiled at her words before nodding to go join the others. When he caught up to them in the elevator, a thought occured to him, "Hey. How exactly are we going to escort two trucks with only one bios ship?" he asked, the others looking at him strangely.

Robin grinned, "Wait you didn't hear? I thought Kid would tell you." he said, looking at the speedster.

"Tell me what?" James asked. As the doors slid opened, he looked in the hangar to see six new additions, "Oh…..those…..cool." he said when he saw the six custom motorcycles. One of them was a scooter model, four of them were sportsbikes, and the last one was a regular, more classic bike.

"We kinda called the others, sorry dude you got the last one." Kid Flash said as he zoomed out of the elevator.

James walked over to the Standard bike, it looked like a floor model of a Harley Davidson depot. It was black in color with a orange stripe going down the gas tank. Unlike the other bikes, this one didn't have anything blocking the engine and the gap between the front wheel and body of the bike. "I think I'm in love." he said as he picked up the helmet and jacket on the seat of the bike, the helmet was orange with a black rim around the visor that went off into points. The black motorcycle jacket has zipper pockets and a button collar, slipping it on, he felt something inside the pocket. He reached in and found a note.

'Be sure to wear the helmet! Your darling sister Laura.'

He smiled at the note before putting it in his pocket before loading his bike up into the ship with the rest of them.

III

O

 **Litchfield County, August 3rd 2010, 21:18 pm.**

The site of the fight was closed off for miles, off the side of the highway was a huge crater where the Andriod had been finally been disassembled, six trucks were lined up with a few members of the Justice League oversaw the parts being loaded into two of the six trucks. James and the rest of the team had parked their bikes in a nearby clearing, waiting as they waited for the trucks to start up towards their destinations. "Alright, team one will be me, Kid, and Miss. Martian, we'll follow the truck heading for Boston. Team two will be Razor, Robin, and Superboy,you'll escort the other truck to New York. Any questions?" Aqualad asked as he started his bike up. No one asked anything.

When batman gave the signal to the trucks to go, the Team waited until one of the semi trucks passed by before riding out of the clearing and riding after their respective trucks, the plan was for the three trucks heading for each city to break off onto different routes as they started on their journeys to their respective cities. Police would escort the decoy trucks while the real ones would be guarded by the team.

Ahead of James, Robin, and Superboy's tucks was a turnoff from the main road, two of the trucks broke off and went down the side road while the three heroes followed the one that remained in front of them. A few seconds after the trucks broke off, Robin spoke, "If dislike is the opposite of like, is disaster the opposite of aster? See instead of things going wrong, everything goes right." he explained.

James glanced over at Robin questionably, "What? I mean I guess but how did you….nevermind." he said, shaking his head as he went back to focusing on the road. He really liked the bike, it handled amazingly , especially since it had to support his weight. While he was very fit for someone his age, his bones were made of metal, while he wasn't as heavy as Logan he still had some more weight behind him. As Superboy pulled a wheelie and pulled ahead of them, James looked over at Robin, "Not feeling the aster? Wait what would you call it if things go better than normal?" he asked.

Robin thought about it, "Huh…...that's a good question…..maybe coaster? Like instead of dissing someone you compliment them?" he suggested.

James raised his hand from the the break, "Ehhhhh….hey why did we give Kid Flash a bike if he can just run at the speed of sound?" he asked. Before Robin could respond, the sound of mechanical laughing made them look back to see a large group of what could only described as robotic flying monkeys. "Ok either I'm seeing flying robot monkeys, or we just rode into a twisted version of the Wizard of Oz." he said, the black metal monkeys had green eyes with miniature jet engines on their backs.

'This is Aqualad, Superboy, Robin, Razor our truck is under attack!' Aqualad's radio said to their helmets.

"Let me guess. Flying robot monkeys. A lot of them." he said into the helmet. He looked over to his teammates to see Robin's bike transform, the rear tire disconnected from the bike as the front wheel folded back so that the motorcycle was a motorized unicycle. The rear wheel split apart, the axle spinning like helicopter blades as it flew up into the air into a drone mode. "Oh hell yeah I love this job!" James said excitedly as he found a button below the speed dial. He looked up in time to see Superboy jump off his bike and onto the roof of the truck.

He swerved to avoid it as Robin ditched his bike, shooting a grapple to the back of the truck where the robotic simons were trying to cut into the back door. Robin knocked kicked one of them of. James pressed the button on the bike, the sides of the gas tank raised up from the sides of his bike, there were a pair of laser blasters on each side like on the drone from Robin's bike that fired at the bots around Robin. "Nice shooting!" Robin called out as a group of the monkeys flew at Superboy while he was blinded by one of them blasting his eyes.

The robots lifted him up into the air before dropping him from a great hight, leaving the two others no choice but to go on without him. As he watched Superboy get farther away, two of the monkeys that carried him off flew after James. Straightening his arms, his claws popped out from between his knuckles, pulling on the break, he slid back towards the monkeys, as he got close he extended his arms out, slicing them to bits as he went past them. Grabbing the handlebars he turned on the acceleration and zoomed past the remains as Robin got on top of the swerving truck.

As he began to catch up to the truck, Superboy leapt overhead onto the truck and began swatting the monkeys away like flies. Unfortunately the truck's driving was getting bat. James caught up to the truck from behind, Robin went to the driver and helped him bail just as the whole truck began to tip, James hit the brakes, causing the back tire to lift up off the ground slightly before James put some of his weight back to get the wheel back down. James stopped beside Robin as the truck started rolling over itself with Superboy still clinging to the roof of the truck.

The transport landed on it's roof, sliding across the pavement with sparks flying. The back door blew open a second after it stopped, the robots flew out the back while carrying the container with the andriod parts inside it. "Aw hell, Razor to Aqualad the hostels have our package, don't tell me-" he began.

'Ours as well.' the radio replied, making James grit his teeth.

"Look I'll try and track them, not sure if I can keep up with them though." he said, about to turn his bike into the cornfield after them.

'Negative! Do not engage, if they assemble the android and it absorbs your healing factor-' Aqualad began.

"Then he won't be disassembled, shit…...ok I'll track only and not engage." he said.

'Acknowledged. Keep us updated. Aqualad out.' Kaldur said. Just as the tracker was about to take off after the monkeys, Superboy crashed into the cornfield before jumping after the monkeys.

James sighed, _And now that I have THAT to deal with_. He thought as he started up the bike and drove into the cornfield after Superboy and the robot monkeys. "If I can say one thing about this job, there's never a dull moment." he muttered as the corn stalks hit against his helmet. When he reached a large hole in the ground, pulling his helmet off, he took a whiff of the air, he could smell a mixture of burnt fuel and oil underneath Superboy's scent. As he put his helmet back on he revved his bike's engine before taking off after the two

III

O

The monkeys headed south, towards Gotham City, more accurately along the railroad tracks on the outskirts of the city. He did stop once in awhile to make sure he was on the right trail. While he was tracking machines, they left their own kinds of trail that not everyone could see, their jets left fumes that lingered for a while, and the box was heavy enough so that they had to fly low, a few treetops were clipped. And even then he could just follow the huge signs that Superboy had left in his wake.

He said he didn't need pr want any help, attitude aside going after this android alone was just plain stupid on his end. James was going to make sure he survived this just to hit him later.

Riding along the train tracks on the road, he saw the rear car of the train ahead, the scent was strong, the robots were nearby. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw Superboy sent flying from the car towards the city. "Razor to team, I found superboy-" he began before he saw another form fly from the train, "-and the android, who is assembled. I really suggest backup….now!" he said as he turned off the road and headed towards the direction that Superboy went.

Riding into the city, James sped through the streets, turning around a corner he came upon Gotham Academy. "Well I'm here….now what?" he asked, he couldn't risk going inside and joining in the fight. But he hated the idea of waiting on the sidelines, "Razor to team, Superboy is engaged with Amazo at Gotham Academy, standing by." he radioed to the others.

'Gotham Academy!? That's-...nevermind, me and Kid Flash are en-route. Do not engage.' Robin radioed in, correcting himself before he slipped up.

"Well what am I supposed to do? I don't want to sit on my hands!" James complained.

'Ivo has to be around there somewhere, see if you can't find him.' Robin said.

James shrugged, finding Ivo would be a good bonus, last thing they need is Ivo just doing this over again. Taking a whiff of the air, he parked his bike in front of the school and sniffed the air, there was a nearby scent, other than Superboy and the Android, what was strange was that there was a trace of Robin here as well. But one of the newer scents led around the building. Following it, he ran along the perimeter until he heard the fight inside the gym.

It was also where the other scent was coming from, he didn't to risk being spotted, beside the windows leading into the gym was a large tree. Scaling up the tree, he climbed up the branches until he reached one that stopped before the window, walking out onto the branch, James peered inside to see that as usual, chaos had broken out. Amazo was battling Robin, Wally, and Superboy, and he was handling them like rag dolls.

In the stands was a short man in a sweater vest and dress shirt and bowtie with a par of the robot monkeys at his side. A new scent caught his attention, close, really close, the sound of shifting bark behind him, and the sound of metal sliding out a sheathe confirmed it, someone was trying to sneak up on him. He shot his foot out behind him, he hit something solid, they blocked. Turning around, he found himself being stared down by an archer.

She was around her age, she held a green bow with a sharp arrow pointing right at him, she had blonde hair, dark grey eyes, and a slender yet athletic build with olive skin tone. She had on a green colored costume that reminded him og Green Arrow, she had a sleeveless top that showed her midriff with a mask that extended from her hairline to her cheekbones, fingerless gloves, pants with kneepads, and combat boots with a quiver on her back, on her chest was what looked like a arrow symbol. "Um…..hi?" he greeted, not really phased that she had a arrow pointed at his chest.

"Hi, so why did I just see a guy in a black shirt go flying into a school?" she asked, her draw not loosening. James honestly wasn't sure how to respond, a better question was if he should respond, they were not technically on a secret mission. But at the same time he wanted to avoid another talking to from Batman.

"Um…..what are you doing here?" he questioned in response.

"I asked you first!" she shot back.

"I plead the fifth." James replied. He really wished Miss. Martian was around so he could ask the others what to do.

She let the arrow fly, grazing his helmet, before he could act she had another ready, "Warning shot, next one goes in your visor." she warned, just as the sound of mechanical clanking as heard by him.

Behind the girl was a group of the robotic monkeys, ""Monkeys." he said, making her look at him strangely before she heard the robot's approach her from behind, there was easily over two dozen of the robots. She shot her arrow at one of them, knocking them out of the air as James popped his claws and sliced through a trio of them in a single swipe of his arm. He jabbed his other hand into one of them before tossing it off into another of the enemies. The mystery girl fired a trio of arrows at the flying targets.

One of them dropped from above and covered her eyes and it's tail wrapped around her neck and started to strangle her, that was until Razor's laws shot through it's head, letting her breathe. _Ok motorcycle head is not a bad guy. Good._ she thought as she watched one of the monkeys blasted him in the chest with a laser from it's eyes. She reached down to her hip and pulled out a automatic crossbow and fired an arrow at the one who wounded him. Before she could check on his wound, he swiped his arms back and sliced through five of the opponents, _Ok so motorhead has claws, razor sharp knives of death. Who shrugs off lasers…...I am really glad I did not shoot him with a arrow._ She thought as she pegged five of the simons with her crossbow before she was rushed by four of them and sent her against the window, making her drop the crossbow.

James saw what happened and pulled his helmet off and threw it at one of the monkeys holding her, the others turned to look at him. "Well come on then!" he challenged as the monkeys left the girl and charged at him. He backed away, "Battle on my terms." he muttered as he stabbed his fist forward into a pair before slashing upwards with his others. He needed them to focus on him, the girl was good, but she was clearly a ranged fighter, "Now! Shoot!" he called out.

 _What? Wait...oh!_ She thought before pulling out a trick arrow as the swarm of robots piled on him She fired, the arrow flew through the air and exploded when it hit the pile. As James finished up with the other monkeys, she looked inside to see Kid Flash be grabbed by Amazo, taking a moment to register the scene in front of her before drawing her bow and firing a broadhead at the robot. The andriod phase shifted to let the arrow pass through him, but also release Kid Flash.

James sliced horizontally through the last robot,he took a breath as he looked around, there were no more hostels. When he saw the girl looking into the building, he jumped over to the ledge to join her. They both watched as the android became tangible as Superboy jammed his fist through his face, James and the girl winced as the head exploded and Superboy was sent back.

As the others surrounded the downed robot, he looked over at the girl, "You're with them? Your a team?" she asked, James looked away, not exactly willing to answer, "And I SO want on!"

"Wait what?" he asked, surprised by the sudden demand. Can he do that? He's pretty sure he can't do that. "I mean I did just help you take out killer robot monkeys…...with lasers." she pointed out. James rubbed the back of his neck, he really was put in a awkward position. His silence gave her a minute to think , she sighed, "Nevermind. Thanks for the help, and sorry for threatening to put a arrow in you." she apologized. Before James could say anything, she shot a arrow with a grappling hook on it, it hit the ledge of a building before it retracted, carrying her up to the side of a building.

James sighed, he didn't mean to dissuade her like that, in fact if he was being honest she seemed more than capable. Looking down at the ground, he saw where she dropped her crossbow, hopping down to the ground, he picked it up and sniffed it, her scent was all over it. 'Aqualad to Razor, what's your position?' Aqualad asked in his ear.

James pressed his finger against the radio, "I'm right outside….I may have a scent on Ivo. I'll investigate, I'll call if I find anything." he said before running around the school to get his bike.

III

O

The girl's scent had led him to a brownstone in the southern part of Gotham, parking further down the street, he looked at the building that carried her sent. Walking into the alleyway behind the row of buildings he walked to the one that the archer lived. Finding a fire escape on the back of the building that led up to the rooftop. Jumping up onto the ladder, he climbed up to the top floor where all he could smell was the archer. Must be her place. He thought as he peered inside the window, only to see no one inside. The sound of a tightening drawstring made him turn to see he once again pointing an arrow at his face. "...do you greet people this way?" he asked.

She grit her teeth, "How did you find me?" she asked angrily, she had done her damnedest to make sure she couldn't be traced back here, she took a different route home every night. She always looked over her shoulder, and somehow this guy still found her.

James slowly reached back and pulled out her crossbow, "I tracked you with this…..your scent's kinda covered in it." he explained as he held it out to her. She looked at him with obvious disbelief.

"What are you part bloodhound?" she asked.

"Kind of…...Look, I don't know who you are." he started, "I mean literally, you must be new. But same for under the mask. But you helped me back there, helped save my friend's life too…..so way I see it, you're a good guy...erm, girl." he corrected, not wanting to come across as a threat.

She kept the bow taught for a few seconds, he wasn't worried, even if she shot him he honestly would chalk it up to being scared. She let out a sigh and lowered the bow before reaching out and taking the crossbow. "Look, thanks and all but if your doing this because I said I want in-"

"Well full disclosure I'm not exactly sure I can do that." he said, making her slightly smirk. "But I mean, if you want-"

"No." she interrupted. "I mean…..it's complicated." she said with a frustrating sigh.

The tracker nodded, "Ok….I'm James by the way." he introduced, she looked at him shocked. He did not just tell me his real name did he? "If you change your mind…...well I actually live in New York so I can't exactly meet you somewhere." he muttered.

"Ok stop." she said, raising her hands, "Did you seriously just tell me your name and where you live?"

"Yeah and how many James do you think live in the big apple?"

"...ok yeah fair point." she said.

"Look, if you do change her mind, let me know somehow. Maybe spell it out in arrows or something?" he suggested as he started down the fire escape.

Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it, don't be a idiot, "Artemis." I swear to god tonight is just my dumbest night ever.

"Oh like the goddess! I was thinking it was like Arrowet or something…...well, see ya." James said before dropping back down to the street and ran back to his bike. Artemis couldn't help but let out a breath of relief, he thought it was just her code name…...well it was but still. This was better than she thought.

III

O

 **Mount Justice August 4th 2010 1:16 am.**

After the team debriefed with batman, James saw the look that Green Arrow and Batman shared when the others thought that Speedy was the one who shot the arrow. So that left him with a choice, tell them what happened, or let them find out on their own. The answer was very obvious given how things went last time. "-so I found her place, gave her back her crossbow, talked a little and then tried to track down Ivo like I told them but he must have used his robots to get away because there was no scent outside the school." he finished telling the two after the others had gone.

Batmare simply looked at him, "Ivo would have still gotten away if you were there. But you kept a secret from the rest of the team. Why?" he asked.

James looked between Arrow and Batman, "When she saw the others, she said she wanted in. Before I could say anything, she dismissed it…..i wanted to know why." he explained.

Batman was silent a moment before swiping his hand out, making a holographic keyboard appear, typing a few commands in, a few images came up on screen, each of them showing crime scenes where it was apparent that Artemis had struck, "I've been tracking her progress in Gotham, while she hasn't done anything to warrant intervention, her coming across the team in action changes things." he explained before looking at James, "Her wishing to join however, shows more about her character."

James looked up at the screen, "So what are you gonna do? I mean even if it wasn't speedy, having a archer wouldn't be too bad, besides Robin, none of us have anything for ranged combat." he pointed out.

Batman seemed to mull it over before speaking. "Meet me and Green Arrow in Gotham in three days."

 **Gotham City August 7 2010 22:35 pm.**

When the door to Artemis's home opened, James, Green Arrow and Batman were met by a Vietnamese woman in a wheelchair. James expected a number of reactions, but when she simply moved aside and let them in, he did not exactly know how to react. "Would you like something to drink? Eat?" she asked as she led the three into the living room.

"No." Batman said simply.

The woman sighed, "Fine then. Obviously you're not here for me…...what has Jade done? She asked, when James saw that neither Green Arrow or Batman didn't speak, neither did he. Slowly, she realized what that meant, "Oh god….Artemis."

James saw the look of pain on her face, of devastation, he couldn't bare it, "Um….whatever you think it is, she actually helped me." he said, this got him a look from Batman. He looked at the dark knight and did something he never thought he could do. He glared back, the poor woman was in a wheelchair and letting her assume the worst was something he did?

The woman looked at James shocked before looking at Batman, "For the past week. Artemis has been stopping crime around Gotham City unsupervised. Three days ago she came across James and his team, she helped them. And showed interest in joining." he explained.

The woman looked shocked, then morphed to one of joy, "She….she did?" she asked before tears of joy started leaking from her eyes. "Please, please let her join, I-I-I'll do anything-"

James raised his hands, "It's fine ma'am. We're here because we need you to sign the permission slip." Batman and Green Arrow raised their eyes at him. "What? How is this not like that?" he asked. It was a rule that order to join the Team, members needed permission from a legal guardian in order to join, mentors count as well but since Artemis didn't have one, her mother had to do.

"Well basically yeah that is what we're here to do." Green Arrow explained, "She'll be my student, she's shown a talent with a bow. As well as my color scheme." he explained.

Before the mother could respond, James heard footsteps on the rooftop, "She's on the roof." he said automatically. "And now she's in her room." he said when he heard the window in her room slide open.

Artemis! Can you come in here?" Pula called out to her daughter.

A few seconds later the bedroom door opened, showing an unmasked Artemis in a bathrobe covering her costume, "Mom what do...you…..Batman...Green Arrow...YOU!" she yelled as she pointed at James.

"Don't look at me! He ordered me to come here!" he said, pointing to Batman.

The look of betrayal on her face was clear, "You came here to stop me? Well you can forget_"

"No." Batman ansered simply, making her be qiet, "The Justice League has formed a covert team of young heroes." he explained as the blonde folded her arms over her chest. "We'd like you to join the team.'

"If you expect an apology for saying tattletails ass then-" she began before she actuallt registered what Batman said, "Wait. What?" she asked, clearly surpised and taken off guard by the offer.

James smiled, "We'' you saved Kid Flash's but with a arrow. And we don't have an archer. And you said wiu'd like to join so…" he trailed off, letting Green arrow explain that they just needed to make sure it was ok with her mother, to which she gave her permission gladly. Artemis looked over at her mother sadly, "One condition: you don't tell the others who I am...who my family is." she said.

Her mother was saddned by that, but she understood and remained quiet.

"Um…..we have a clone of Superman on our team, a Martian, a Speedster, an Atlantean, and me on the team. Trust me you will not be judged." James said confidently. The blonde glared at him slightly, not exactly sure he'd understand. James simply raised his fist, SHINKT!

When the mother and daughter shaw his blades, they were both shocked speech;es. As they retracted back into his forearm, e smiled, "I get it, trust me…..but if you don't want to tell them….whatever you aren't? I get it." he said reassuringly.

III

O

After batman and Arrow left, James waited on the roof of the brownstone, when the archer climbed up over the ledge, he spoke first. "Look I'm sorry I told them, but your try keeping something from Batman." he said in his own defense.

She leaned against the ledge, "No, I get it…...so you won't tell the others?' she asked, wanting to make sure he was going to keep his word.

"I'm pretty sure i can't tell them something I don't know….but when you are ready? Tell me first? Because now I'm curious and it's gonna be hard not looking it up." he said, making her smile a tad. "Look. I get what it's like to be judged because of family. Hell the way you and your mom looked at me proved that." he said.

"Sorry. I kinda thought they were knives or something." she explained, thinking back to when they fought together.

James shrugged, "I get it alot. I'm used to it. But…..family doesn't define you….trust me." he said. "But seriously? You use your real name as your code name?"

"This coming from the guy who gave me his real name first night we met?" she replied with a cocked eyebrow.

"Least I don't go around in tights."

"Doesn't that make you the odd man out?" she asked cockily with a smile.

James smirked, he was gonna have fun with her on the team, he could tell. "Find out Tomorrow. I'll drop by and show you the Zeta Tube location." he explained as he walked towards the fire escape besides Artemis.

"What's a zeta tube?" she asked.

"Ever see Star Trek? It's basically the teleporter." he explained as he began climbing down the fire escape.

Artemis watched him climb down until he was about to go down to the next floor, "James…..thanks. For vouching for me." she said gratefully.

James smirked at her, "It's what friends do….before you get any ideas, superboy is not even a month old yet. Cradle Robber." he said, making the blonde's cheeks flush red.

"What?!"

"Just some free advice!" James called out before dropping to the ground and running. She rolled her eyes at her new teammate. And then she smiled at the word. She was so in.

 **AN: Im tired so I'm just going to post this. Your welcome.  
**

 **ALSO SEASON 3 IS A GO PEOPLE! THANK THE FANS FOR THIS ONE!**


	5. Chapter 5: Infiltrator

**Infiltrator**

 **Mount Justice August 2010 8th 9:50 am.**

James flicked through the channels on TV with a bored look on his face, Artemis was joining the Team later today in the afternoon but until then he had little to nothing to do until then. Artemis seemed like she would fit right in with the others, he didn't know why her family was a big deal for her but she would tell them when she felt ready. At least he hoped she would.

The scent of M'gann made him look to the forest to see her fly in, "James! Good your here, grab your swimming trunks and meet us by the side exit!" she said before quickly flying away back down the hallway where she came from. James sighed, M'gann had planned for all of them to go to the beach today, however…..

 _Just grab a book and a fold out chair to use._ He thought as he turned off the TV and headed to his room. Locking the door behind him, he changed into a pair of trunks with the Canadian flag pattern, he also grabbed a book from his ever growing collection near his bedside. Since most of his training took place on the road, he found that reading was a good way to pass time, especially when the radio and TV went out.

James followed M'gann's scent towards the eastern part of the mountain where M'gann in a yellow two piece, Superboy, Kaldur, and Robin in trucks were waiting for him. "Dude. Nice trunks." Robin said with a snicker.

James puffed his chest out, "Canadian and proud Robin." he said we before grinning. "Besides, if it weren't for us the world wouldn't have Canadian Bacon. Or Hockey…...and Michael J Fox…..and Ryan Reynolds." he pointed out to the boy wonder. He heard all the jokes about Canadians, but he held a great deal of pride over his home country.

"And Justin Bieber?" Robin added with a smirk, making James deflate.

"...I will cut you." he threatened as the doors slid open, the sun shined through the doorway. The door led out to a small cape nuzzled into the east side of the mountain. WAlking out onto the beach, James stretched his arms out, "Man that sun feels good." he said as M'gann walked out further.

"Hello Megan! We should hit the beach every day!" she said happily as her teammates joined her.

Robin adjusted his sunglasses, "A moment of silence of our…...absent friend." he said with a mix of dramatics and honesty. Wally had started school today in Keystone City and was absent today from the team, as M'gann showed sympathy for the speedster, James chuckled to himself, he didn't attend school since Laura had met him, she homeschooled him for the most part and he did well. He also didn't want to run the risk of accidentally popping his claws in class or something.

"Alright moments over. Hit the water!" Robin said suddenly before running towards the water with M'gann and Kaldur, eight behind him. James simply sat down in the sand and opened his book.

Superboy looked at him curiously, "You aren't getting in?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, I'll get in the saltwater with my metal bones. That will turn out extremely well." James said, rolling his eyes. It wasn't that he couldn't swim, he just could not swim very well. It was in part because of his bones being made of metal, and also because he didn't know how to swim expertly. It was cold in Canada, not many reasons to get in the freezing cold water unless you had a death wish.

Superboy looked at the tracker, then to the water, he smirked. Before James knew what was happening, Superboy grabbed him by the shoulder and threw him into the air towards the water. "YOU SON OF A-" James shouted before hitting the water. He surfaced a moment later beside his friends, "...I hate you all." he said before standing up, just as Superboy came down in a cannonball, soaking everyone in water.

"That's it! Everyone! Dunk the boy of steel!" James called as he tried to tackle Superboy along with Robin. Kaldur and M'gann simply watched as the kryptonian tossed them both aside into the water. They would be at this for a while.

III

O

"Mmmmmh, nicely done M'gann." James said as he took a bite out of his hot dog that they had just made on a mini grill. After trying to unsuccessfully to dunk Superboy, the team moved to the beach and started on lunch. They grabbed some food and a grill and began to eat, "Gotta say if Wally was here we'd be out by now." he said as he took another bite.

"You kidding? He'd clean us out and run to get more just to hog all of them." Robin said as he squirted some mustard onto his food. He knew that Wally had to eat copious amounts of food in order to counteract hiss accelerated metabolism, but that didn't mean he had to like it. James was in a somewhat similar boat as well, he needed to eat a lot of protien if he wanted his healing factor in top shape.

"How long you guys known each other? If you don't mind me asking." James asked curiously, Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad all knew each other obviously. They all met superboy back on Independence Day and M'gann shortly thereafter, so he knew them as well as she did.

Kaldur spoke up, "I've only been on the surface for only a few months, I met Robin and Kid soonafter, as for how long they've been acquainted…" he trailed off, looking at Robin to see if he would answer. The Boy Wonder was forbidden to talk of his secret identity from Batman, or anything that could hint at it, making him a very private person, well more like he was forced to be.

Robin smirked, "I met Wally a few years back, back back then it was him, me, and Speedy." he said, thinking back to the good times with his friends.

James swallowed his food, he heard the guys talk about this Speedy guy, he was the former partner of Green Arrow who left for some reason. James didn't ask ask why because it didn't seem like his place. "This Speedy guy, he sounds like a good guy, why didn't he join the Team?" he asked curiously.

Robin frowned, "Speedy…...when we got to go to the Hall of Justice we thought we were gonna be part of the League but….well, we weren't. Speedy took it hardest. Can't really blame him, they didn't trust us." he said with a taste of bitterness in his voice.

"Once the team was formed, we approached him and asked that he joined. He however saw it as a way to keep us on a leash." Kaldur finished, James frowned at that.

"Sounds like he's got a big chip on his shoulder." he noted.

"Oh he does, but usually he uses it positively." Robin joked as he used a fork to get his hotdog off the grill and eat it.

James chuckled, "Well maybe one day he'll change his mind. When Laura told me about you guys she called it a sort of training program slash starting team." he explained. The team's training with Black Canary was carried out every other day unless something came up, James and Superboy were sparring partners, mainly because they could take each other's damage, though James ever used his claws, but his hand to hand skills have been getting much better.

As they carried on with eating, James wondered how Wally was doing in School. _Eh, I'm sure he's fine._ He thought as he ate his hotdog.

III

O

By the times the sun was setting, the Team was called to the cave. After suiting up in their mission gear, they entered the Mission Room, they were greeted by Batman and Green Arrow along with Artemis. After introducing herself to the others, James gave her a discreet nod, "Nice to meet you, I'm Razor, or James, either or is fine." he said shaking her hand, "We have another team member but he-" he began before the Zeta Tube hummed to life.

'Recognized, Kid Flash. B03'

In the tube, Wally teleported into existence with a large umbrella, a towel around his neck, a beach ball, a cooler, some bags with food, and a stereo, while wearing nothing but sunglasses and swimming trunks. "The Wall man is here!" he proclaimed proudly as he ran forward, "Now lets get this party star-oomph!" he grunted out as he tripped, spilling what he held onto the floor, the beach ball bouncing past Batman.

"...nevermind." James said simply as he stepped aside to a bemused Artemis.

"Wall man huh? Wow, love the uniform. What exactly are your powers?" she asked teasingly as Wally got up off the floor with a grunt, James smiled as the two went back and forth. Wally introducing himself and saying that he never heard of her before, she bugged Wally, she was now his favorite steam member.

"Well what happened to your old one?" Kid Flash asked when Green Arrow explained that she was his new protege. The Zeta Tube powered up once again, this time a young adult stepped through, he had ginger red hair like Wally, he had a tactical suit on with a red pointed top and black pants, gloves, and a red bow on his back.

"Well for starters he doesn't go by 'Speedy' anymore. Call me Red Arrow." he said, the others falling into a silence.

Green Arrow stepped forward, "Roy…..you look-" he began before his former trainee interrupted.

"Replaceable." he said, bitterness in his voice. James frowned, chip on his shoulder seemed like a nice way of saying he was an asshole. "Can she even use that bow?" he questioned, pointing his question at both archers.

Artemis stepped forward, "Yes. She can." she challenged tauntingly to the red archer. James smirked, glad that she didn't find his words all that tough, Wally again asked who she was because of this. "I'm/She's his niece." they answered, just as they had rehearsed.

Robin crossed his arm and smirked, "Another niece?"somewhat amused by the coincidence.

"But she is not your replacement. We have always wanted you on our team." Kaldur added in as well, James looked at the partners with some disappointment. He expected Robin and Wally to want him on the team, but Kaldur? He was glad he was willing to have Artemis on as well, and it was true that having more than one archer would help if they need to divide the team into groups. But still, he expected a little more backbone.

"But if I recall, you're the one who called this a 'kids club' was it?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest as Red Arrow looked over and glared at him. "So if you're not here to join, your here for something else." James said in realization.

"Smart. A reason named Serling Roquette." He noted in registers to James, the two glared at one another silently before Robin interrupted the two of them.

"Nanorobotics genius and Claytronics Expert at Royal University in Star City." he began as he typed onto the keypad on his gauntlet, causing a few screens to appear, one of them showing the Doctor and another showing the headline of her going missing. "Vanished two weeks ago."

"Abducted two weeks ago. By the League of Shadows." he corrected, making the other team members eyes widen in surprise. James heard from Lura about the group, they follow a man hellbent on global domination in order to save it. He also knew that…...Logan was a bit of a…..arch enemy of the league…...for a great many number of reasons. James however had never met them, and if he was honest he was a little disappointed.

 _I finally get to fight ninjas? Sweet!_ he thought with some excitement. "You want us to rescue her from the shadows?" Robin said with a similar amount of excitement as Wally and him fistbumped.

"I already rescued her." Red Arrow said as he walked towards the monitors, "Only one problem. The Shadows had already coerced her into making a weapon." he said, taking out a small device from his pocket and pressing down on it, causing a new set of screens to pop up. On it was a machine that looked like a tick and a canister. "Doc calls it the fog. Comprised of millions microscopic robots. Nanotec infiltrators, capable disintegrating anything in their path. Concrete, steel, flesh, bone." he listed off.

James felt a little uneasy at that, his bones are made of adamantium but he didn't want to test out his bones on nanomachines. "But it's true purpose isn't mere destruction, it's theft, the infiltrators eat and store raw data from any computer system. And deliver the stolen intel to the shadows." he explained. "Providing them with access to weapons, strategic defense, cutting edge science and tech."

"Perfect for extortion, manipulation, power broking. Yeah, sounds like the Shadows." Artemis finished for him with a clear sound of Despise in her voice.

"Like you know anything about the Shadows." Wally said dismissively, Artemis looked back with a triumphant smirk on her face. Wally's superiority vanished, "Who are you?!" he asked yet again.

"Roquette working on a antivirus to make the fog inert." Red Arroww added.

"But if the shadows know she can do that-" Robin began, grasping the situation at hand.

Red Arrow nodded, "They'll target her, right now she's stashed off the grid, I stashed her at the local high school's computer lab." he finished explaining.

"You left her alone?!" Green Arrow asked with criticism at his protegees actions. Leaving her alone with the Shadows after her could possibly be the worst thing he could do. At least that's what James thought.

"She's safe enough for now." Red Arrow argued. Razor glared at him, add a ego to the asshole part of the description.

James unfolded his arms, "Safe enough isn't safe." he argued, "You can't just leave her alone when there are people trying to kill her that are after her." he argued.

"Enough." Green Arrow told him, James winced slightly. He got why Green was defending rhis former partner, but he didn't excuse him for being arrogant. Green Arrow looked at Roy, "Let's you and I keep her that way." he offered, James could smell the others, they were a little offended that he wanted to hijack their operation as well.

"You and I? Don't you want to take your new protegee?" he asked bitterly. James scowled, Ok if this guy doesn't drop the attitude I'm gonna deck him. he thought to himself as Green Arrow took a step forward, but for Batman to put a hand on his shoulder, sending a silent message, it wasn't his call.

"You brought this to the team. It's their mission now. Which means it's her's now too." he said, gesturing to Artemis and the others.

Red Arrow scoffed, "Then my job's done." he said without a care as he walked towards the Zeta Tube.

James, turned his head to look at him as he walked away, "Nice meeting ya, Speedy." he said, Red Arrow turned and glared at james, who simply smirked back at him. It only made him smile more when the computer called him that as well before Roy corrected it to Red Arrow.

"As Red Arrow explained, your mission is to protect the doctor while she creates a way to disable the fog, then locate and destroy it. The League will be backing you in case the Shadows send overwhelming forces." Batman explained, getting attention on him from everyone. "Keep in mind that the Shadows are masters of assassination, do NOT drop your guard for any reason." he advised, he looked to Kaldur and nodded.

The leader looked at his team, "Everyone, equip yourselves and meet at the high school within the hour." he said before turning to Artemis, reaching into his pocket he pulled out a smartphone like device and handed it to her, "Coordinates will be sent to everyone, check in with everyone on arrival to the site. Any questions?" he asked, no one spoke up. "Good." he said with a nod as Wally sped off to change into his costume, Robin, Superboy, and Miss. Martian took Artemis to the hanger. As James was about to join them, Kaldur walked up beside him, "A moment, if you have it." he asked. James nodded, "I know that Roy can be….difficult."

James nodded as they walked, "I get where this is going, look Kaldur, I'm sure he's a good guy but he's acting like he's better than everyone. He left the doc alone in a high school with ninja assassins after her for crying out loud, and then he comes and gives this to us without even any concern for her safety? He's just looking out for himself and trying to put a notch in his belt." he said.

Kaldur sighed, "I know. Roy has always been ambitious, but since we were lied to by the League, it has grown into almost a obsession with him." he explained, somewhat saddened by his friend's change of character. "I hoped that his joining the team would help, but he clearly shows no interest with joining." he said as they walked into the hangar where the bio ship was out of sleep mode.

James shrugged, "Look, I get it, he's your friend and you want him to hang out with you guys again. But he has to get over himself before he can do that." he said, patting the atlantean on the shoulder as they boarded the craft. They found the others taking their seat, Artemis showing a slightly disgusted look.

"Um. The ship isn't going to eat us, right?" she asked.

"It hasn't so far, so why tempt it?" James asked as he took his seat to the right of the pilot's chair. As part of training, there was a pilot quota for everyone on the team, James hasn't done any time as of yet, however he may need to do that soon, Laura once offered to teach him to fly…...a stolen plane. _Wonder what she's doing right now?_

III

O

 **Watchtower**

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR GODDAMN POINTY EARED MIND?!" Laura yelled directly in Batman's face, "You let, James, Logan's son, the Son of the fucking Wolverine, go on a mission involving the Shadows?! Are you insane?! Oh right! You are!" Laura yelled as she began to pace back and forth while the dark knight and the emerald archer watched. They had just informed her of the mission the Team was currently on, to say she was not pleased would be a understatement.

"Look, Laura-" Green Arrow started before she whipped her head towards him, "-um, the team can handle themselves, they took out an android that took eight of us to take down with less than half those numbers." he pointed out.

Laura was slowly calming down, "It was his choice, he knew the risks and he could have recused himself. He knows when he's in over his head." Batman said logically. Laura looked at him with a glare, "He isn't Logan, he'll be fine." he said, making Laura take a deep breath before exhaling it.

"They're going to find out Logan had a son after this. He's going to be targeted after this…" she said, looking out the window and out into space. "...shit…." she muttered before looking at Batman and the archer, "If they come for him….your rule? It goes out the window." she said, making him glare at her. "No killing. I get it, you're better than that. And I want that for James. But if they mess with my family….Ra's will need to visit his pitt soon." she said before walking away.

Batman watched her as she entered the Zeta Tube, when she disappeared in a flash of light, Green Arrow looked at him, "So what can we do?" he asked.

"We'll have to see how things turn out. But if things go as she says….we will intervene." he said.

III

O

 **Happy Harbor High School, August 8th 2010, 21:59 p.m**

Razor, Superboy and Miss Martian had gone on perimeter of the school to guard while the others were in the computer lab with the doc. She clearly was not expecting them to be the ones guarding her, "Man everyone I've met today has been a peach." he said sarcastically as he walked along the ledge of the clocktower. He was on overwatch, his senses could pick up a sound from about twenty yards away from the school, hopefully this meant no one could sneak up on them. But this wasn't a perfect plan, his attention was also a factor, kind of how like animals could get distracted by noise and miss something. And right now his attention was divided.

' _Augh, this is weird.'_ Artemis thought as she was linked with the other members of the team. It was nice that she was the newbie on the team, made james feel like less of the inexperienced ones.

' _And distracting. Coding a distributed algorithm virus on a kidde computer with less RAM than a wristwatch is hard enough. Now i have to hear Teen tink in my skull?!'_ Roquette complained quite verbally. James rolled his eyes, this was going to be such a joy.

' _Lady do you always complain when someone tries to help you?'_ Kid Flash asked from the same room, sitting on a countertop while he ate a protein bar. Razor found himself agreeing with the speedster, he understood she was scared but criticism doesn't get you very far.

' _Pot, kettle, have you met?'_ Artmenus asked, gesturing to the Doctor and then to Kid Flash.

' _Hey I don't need lip from the newbie who drove Red Arrow off the team!'_ Kid Flash bit back.

' _Aqualad. Permission to disconnect from psychic link so I can pay attention? And if not, can I pop my claws into my skull so I don't need to listen to this?'_ James thought, his head coincidentally leaning on his palm as he tried to listen with his ears for any threats.

He could hear Aqualad sigh, _'Permission Granted. Keep us all informed if anything happens. M'gann?'_ he asked, the mental link being cut off. He listened for anything around the perimeter of the school, M'gann flew down towards the front while Superboy covered the rear.

James listened, he heard the wind slightly blowing, the sound of the door to the science lab opening and closing with footsteps leading away from it. The sound of a twig snapping near the front of the school made him look over the fence surrounding the campus, Artemis walked out the front door, joining M'gann and Superboy jumped onto the roof then to the tower beside James. "Keep an eye out, gonna sweep the outer perimeter." he said.

Superboy nodded, jumping from the rooftop, he turned around and unsheathed his claws and jabbed them into the brick wall, slowing his descent down the side before jumping off and landing safely on his palms. Retracting his claws, he walked past Artemis and M'gann along the fence, Artemis looked over and gave him a nod.

James smiled back before he hopped the fence and sniffed the air. Another scent was in the air grabbed his attention as the Bio Ship laanded in front of the school and Robin and Superboy boarded the craft before the ship flew off. _They must have the Fog's location._ He thought as he entered the woods around the school.

Walking through the shrubbery, James got a whiff of something, it was organic, not not human. There was something else too, it was feminine, a young woman. And she was…..behind!

He ducked down under a kick, _Stupid. Should have caught on sooner._ He thought as he swung his arm out to knock her supporting leg out from under her. She fell to the ground and rolled back as James stood and turned to face her, she wore a dark green kimono dress that stopped at her knees where her boots began, at her sides were twin sai, and over her face was a mask that looked like something out of a asian festival, in the shape of cat's face with red stripes on the cheeks and forehead.

James raised his fists, she didn't draw her blades so he didn't need to either. "Now was raised not hit a woman." he began before moving in and throwing a left, the woman pushed it away with her left palm and drove her elbow into his face. She recoiled back when she felt like she hit metal. He kneed her in the midsection, driving her back. She stopped a few feet away.

"Hmmm, not bad. But are you good with blades?" she asked, drawing her weapons and twirling them around her fingers. Before he could draw his, she threw them at him, side stepping out of the way, she pulled out a collapsible sword and extended it and swung it towards James's neck. He raised his his arm to block the swing and used his other hand to knock the sword away before swinging the back of his hand her in her mask. "Well aren't you tough?" she asked, leaning down to retrieve her sai.

James pulled the blade from his flesh. "Like I was saying. I was raised not to hit a woman. But my sister taught me how to." he said, spreading his legs apart slightly as he leveled the blade. Alright I owe you for the sword lessons sis. he thought as he stepped forward, swinging the blade to her left, she blocked with her twin sai, he pulled back and went for her legs.

She jumped and plunged her blades down towards James, he raised the blade and horizontally blocked them, the tips stopping right in front of his face. "Hmmm, skilled too." she added as they separated their blades, James was in no way going for any lethal swipes, he didn't use enough force to cut through bone. But she noticed, she wasn't pulling her punches, and he was just managing to keep up with her for now, Ok mental note, never sever psychic connection from team ever again! He thought as he thrust the sword towards her shoulder, she locked her sai into the blade and sidestepped before ramming herself into James, making him stumble back into a tree as she disarmed him. Before he could react, a knife was lodged into his throat just before the assassin used a bola to tie around him.

The projectile in his throat reeked of what he smelled before, poison. While it was of no threat to his healing factor, poison took more attention than other injuries. "Well look at you, a kunai in your throat and your still kicking. You're a hard man to put down." she noticed as James tried to break free of his binding. The assassin walked up to him and with drew the kunai from him, "See you around….maybe." she said before walking towards the school.

His hands were at his sides, even if he popped his claws they wouldn't cut anything, _Ok think James, rope too strong to snap from tension, but their bolas…..maybe I can loosen them if I adjust their position?_ He thought as he placed both his feet against the tree and slid himself up, letting his weight go forward against the ropes. When his knuckles grazed the rope, he popped his claws, cutting him free and making him fall onto the ground. He sprinted towards the school, hopping the fence he ran around the side of the school towards the computer lab, he shielded his face behind his arms before jumping through the window, landing on a table, he swung his arms out and looked over to see the assassin with her sword out, "Ok. Let's try that again darlin'." he growled out.

 **SNIKT!**

The assassin's stiffened at the sight of the claws, she was now outnumbered with Aqualad, Artemis, and Razor all against her. "I Really suggest you give up." James said, a small part of him wanting her not to so he could properly fight her with his own blades.

"Tempting." she said before the doors opened, Miss Martian and Kid Flash rushed into the room. She looked around and saw that she was now very outnumbered. "Next time maybe." she said before throwing a smoke bomb at James, the smoke was like getting pepper sprayed but worse. Kid Flash tried to tackle where she was before the smoke went up but ended up running into Artemis.

"She's getting away! Your letting her get away!" the doctor complained, James looked out the window he came in from. He just gave her a exit, sheathing his claws, he hopped off the desk and rubbed his recently healed neck.

"This is all your fault! You were on perimeter! How did that shadow get in?" He barked out at Artemis. The Speedster, then looked over to James, "Wait how did she get past you? How didn't you smell her?!" he asked, James gave him a death glare, Kid closed his mouth, his nitpicking dying before he could continue.

"I did. She stabbed me in the throat. Quit your bitching and let the hole in my throat heal." he said with irritation. "Miss M, can you link me back up?" he asked, M'gann nodded, her eyes glowing green for a second before he felt the familiar feeling of telepathy. _'Thanks, so what now?'_ he asked everyone within his mind.

"We need to focus, the shadows will be back." Aqualad said, getting no arguments from his teammates. His earpiece suddenly buzzed, it was Robin.

'Robin to Aqualad, we're at Philadelphia. We've located the Shadow's next target. Star Labs. We're too late, it's destroyed, totally destroyed, the Fog decimated it. This is bad, Star Labs has cutting edge science and now it's in the hands of the enemy. What's our next move?' he asked.

Aqualad looked at the others, "Be ready to re-scan, we're moving the doctor."

III

O

The plan was simple, but also fairly brilliant, While most of the team guards M'gann shapeshifted into the form of the doctor at a small seaside restaurant, Razor will guard the real doctor working blocks away from where the decoy was at a electronics store. James didn't know if this was a punishment or something, it felt like that with the way the doc was complaining. "I can't believe they just left one of you with that crazy Assassin lady after me! And she got past you no problem!"

James was considering the claws through the brain idea again. "Hey doc, what was the purpose for the fog in the first place? I mean you don't seem like the WMD making type." he asked, trying to get her to talk about something else, something other than how screwed she thought she was.

Roquette eyes him suspiciously, "If you must know, I originally made the nanomachines in mind to help people. If something like a tumor couldn't be removed from the human body, my machines could target the cells and systemically wipe them out." she explained.

James raised a eye, "Ok that explains why they can eat through anything, what about the data mining?"

"Well you can treat a disease, but unless you learn about it that's all you can do." she explained simply. James nodded in understanding, it made sense but he could also see how the Fog could be used as the weapon it currently was being used for.

James felt his communicator go off,'Razor be acknowledged, Cheshire is on her way towards you position, we're engaged in combat with other shadow assassins. Artemis is pursuing but be ready!' Aqualad warned him, James rew his claws, gaining the doctor's attention, he raised a claw up to his lips, mimicking the 'quiet' gesture. She doctor continued working, James circled around the store, he suddenly heard a sound near the rear door where a small black ball rolled in from that poured out smoke. He turned to the smoke, but a quick sniff of the air showed now scent behind the smoke. But he did hear shuffling above.

 _Fool me once_. He thought before stepping up onto a desk and slicing into the ceiling so that it gave out under the assassin's weight. She hit the ground on her back and rolled into the smoke. James looked at Roquette, "Keep working." he said before walking into the smoke after the assassin. He was tackled out into the back alley of the shop. James rolled into a fighting stance and Cheshire had her sai out.

"I gotta admit, I did not expect to fight someone like you. Makes this job interesting." she said before charging forward, James locked her blades with his claws, he pushed them away and raised his foot to kick her back. She leapt forward and twisted like a top towards Razor, he raised his claws, blocking the blades as sparks flew before she landed. James slashed to the left with one claw that she blocked before swinging up with his other hand and just barely scratching her mask, she backflipped away. "Oooh, wolvie got claws, literally."

James rolled his eyes, "Oh for the love of, I am not Wolverine! Do I need to put it on TV?" he asked before the assassin lunged. That's when James threw her for a loop. He didn't block the attack, instead he let the blades sink into his shoulders and grabbed her by the forearms before rolling backwards until he was on top of her and had his claws pointing at her throat. His forehead had been cut from the struggle with her sai. She watched as the sut tissue stitched itself back together. "Now. For the love of god. Stay Down!" he demanded.

It may have been the mask, but he honestly thought she was smiling under that mask. "I did it! Virus uploaded." Roquette shouted triumphantly.

James looked over, next thing he knew, a pair of legs were locked around his neck and swung him onto his back before his hands were stabbed with Cheshire's sai, pinning them into the ground. The assassin looked down at James, he tried to raised his hands up but she was putting a lot of weight on them. "Well, she made the virus, making the contract null and void. However you on the other hand." she said, locking eyes with James, who was glaring at her with his best death stare. "It was exciting. Next time, leave your friends, you'll have fun, promise." she said before lifting herself up up and kicking him in the head, she let out a grunt of pain.

James snickered, "Metal skull." he said simply.

"That they only part of you that's hard?" she asked suggestively.

 _Um…..wait….what?_

Cheshire dropped a smoke bomb, stepping back into the black fog. By the time the James had dislodged himself from the ground the assassin was gone. Walking into the store, he found the doc hiding behind the front desk. "It's ok, she's gone. Come one." he said, walking towards the front door where the others were awaiting them.

"Did you get her?" Kid Flash asked, Miss Martian had a pair of assassins that accompanied Cheshire, one of them having a hook for a hand and the other was wearing a dark purple bodysuit with a black spider on his mask.

"She got away, I see you got her partners. Nice going." he said, down the street, Artemis walked around the corner of the store, carrying the mask of the escaped assassin in her hand. "Her mask? You get a good look at her?" he asked.

Artemis shook her head, "Too dark to see anything. She got away." she said with a bit of shame, James however smelled that she wasn't telling the it could be that she did see her face and she couldn't remember it, he didn't blame her for a little fib like that.

"Oh from you? Big surprise." Wally said sarcastically, making James blow him, "Ow!"

"What he means to say is you did a good job your first mission. Right?" he asked the speedster, when Wally didn't agree, he raised a fist, ready to smack him again.

"Ok yeah, sure, welcome to the team," he said, Artemis raised a hand, he smiled before shaking it. "Well at least you got a souvenir." he said, zipping by and grabbing the mask.

"Indeed, welcome to the Team." Aqualad added as well. Artemis smiled at her new teammates.

III

O

Sensei sat in front of a group of monitors, after explaining what happened with the HAppy Harbor operation, he received some interesting news from one of the assassins that had been sent there. There had been rumors that Wolverine had a son, but they were just that, rumors. But now they had confirmation, and now how to act on this was up for debate. "If this boy is to follow in his father's footsteps, then it could prove to be a hinderance to our cause. Especially if the two were to meet."

' **The odds of that happening are minimal at best. But you are right, it is a risk.'** one of the monitors said.

' **That goes two ways though, if we do attack his son, there is a possibility that Wolverine himself will retaliate.'** another voice pointed out.

' **This is a mere boy, a child. Simply kill him, let it send a message to the young heroes.'** another monitor suggested.

The other monitors seemed to take this into consideration, **'He has his father's claws, and his healing. But sending a message to them would prove useful, and besides, Wolverine has still to pay for his actions against us…..all those in favor of moving against him?'** he was met with 'aye' from most his peers. **'Very well. I shall make the proper arrangements.'**

III

O

After dropping the doctor off with the local police and explaining what happened, the team waited for Superboy and Robin to come pick them up from Gotham where they had disabled the Fog and captured professor Ojo, who was the one responsible for the weapon's creation as well as the doctor's capture. "You gotta get some more durable clothes or something." James told conner, whose shirt had been roasted off.

"You wear normal clothes." he pointed out.

"Yeah but…...nevermind." he said in defeat, obviously Superboy didn't have a real concept of possessions. As the ship landed in the hangar, James saw Laura along with Red Tornado waiting for them. "Huh, what's X doing here?" he asked himself as he got up from his seat as the bio ship landed. As the ship turned around and landed, the rear ramp extended to the floor which the team exited from. "Hey sis, what brings you here?" he asked curiously, Red Tornado and X shared a look.

"Team, follow me for debriefing, X-23 needs to discuss a matter with James in private." the android said to the others, his teammates gave the young man a curious look he gave a nod. They went with Red Tornado while James and Laura alone.

Laura took off her mask, looking James in the eye she looked at him worriedly. "Are you alright?" she asked.

James smirked at her, "I'm fine, I mean I got into a fight with a chick who likes Alice in Wonderland too much….I think she may have hit on me too." he admitted, Laura did not look amused. "Ok, what's up? You usually would be asking me a hundred questions." he asked.

"The Shadows know about you now. Do you know what that means?" she asked, no emotion in her voice whatsoever. He heard her talk like that only once or twice, and both times was when she was absolutely dead serious. "It means that they will hunt you down, they are going to find out where we live, and they will try and kill us. Kill you."

James folded his arms over his chest, "This doesn't sound all that different from how things usually are. Why is this any different?" he asked.

"It's different because even if we fight back, even if I kill every assassin they send? They will never give up." she said, James went rigid at the mention of killing.

"Laura you don't kill anymore." He said.

She simply took a breath of air, "No. I don't WANT to kill, but I WILL kill if I have to." she said so coldly that it made James shiver in a mix of fear and shock. Laura could tell that this was very unnerving to hear from her, hell she did not want to do this but if it came to it she would kill. "Look, for your own safety, as well as everyone else's, you're sitting out a few missions until we find a way to deal with the Shadows. I figure you would want to hear it from me." she said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

James gave a nod of understanding before going to join his teammates, not like he wouldn't be seeing them anytime soon. Laura sighed sighed, she didn't mean to get so…...real with James, but those were the facts, and she honestly didn't care if she got kicked out of the league. She joined because it was what Logan wanted, she wanted to show her that just because she killed didn't mean she could not redeem herself.

But James was her family, and she would kill armies if they tried to kill him.

III

O

The door to Laura's apartment opened, the clone stepped into the home and kicked the door closed with her heel. Walking over to the chair and sitting down, she kicked off her shoes before pulling them up onto the chair and sitting cross legged. Stretching her back out, she felt the satisfying pop in her spine. "Ok, you wanna try and kill me now?" she asked.

She ducked as a sword sprouted out from her chair. She threw her fist into the chair and popped her claws, the blades piercing the assassin's skull before pulling her arm back and jumping off the chair, kicking it towards the the group of Shadow assassins. "WELL COME ON ASSHOLES!" she screamed before popping her other claws and leaping towards the group. Slicing wa pair with her hand claws, she plunged her foot blades onto the chest of another. Leaning back, she used her weight to pull the one she had her foot claws in towards her and throw him into a pair.

 _Something's wrong, they don't smell right._ Laura thought as her claws sliced up the middle of two more assassins. A second later there was a sword in her side, she turned and elbowed the ninja who it belonged to before pulling it out and throwing it into another ninja's chest. A flurry of throwing stars embedded into her back she turned in time to be tackled her towards the door to her bedroom. She dg her foot claw into the ground , pivoting the group toward the window of her room.

They pulled instead of pushed, they all came pouring out the window towards the hard ground, a few died from the impact, Laura landed claws first into the ones who survived. One of them tried to crawl away, their leg twisted and broken, Laura stood from the pile and walked over to the last Shadow assassin before tearing his skin from with her foot claw. "Bet…..you thought…..you were lucky….huh asshole?" she asked, taking a break to pull out what weapons were sticking out of her, a few kunai and throwing stars.

She took a step forward and pain raked down her back, she fell forward, biting back a growl of pain. She swung her arm back, a slice at the tendons in her armpit made the arm useless. When she got a look at her attacker, she had a look of confusion, "You? But your dea-" The sword plunged into her forehead and out the other side. Laura fell to the ground, blood pouring from the damage done to her brain.

X-23 was down.

 **AN: As some of you may know X-23 doesn't have a adamantium skellington, only her claws have the metal. ANd a stab to the head has taken her out of the fight before. She isn't dead, so don't worry.**

 **Also I went back and saw I got James's age wrong, it's fixed now, he was fifteen but now he's seventeen.**

 **So until next time guys, I'll see you guys later :)**


	6. Chapter 6: Trigger

**Trigger**

 **Mount Justice.19:38 p.m. August 19th 2010**

It had been two weeks since Laura went MIA. The League had been searching for her since, Batman had surmised that her abduction coincided with the Shadow's operation with Doctor Roquette disabling the Fog. The consensus was that the Shadows took her in retaliation for the team's mission to stop them. But James knew that it was because he came in contact with the Shadows. His fault for her disappearance.

And what's worse was the fact that he hadn't been allowed to leave the cave at all, even when the team was assigned a mission by Captain Atom a week ago. So he did what he always did when he had some pent up anger. He found a way to let it out, and in this case, sparing with Superboy was the perfect way to do so. While they did that however, James did some reading up on all the intel that the League knew about the Shadows, they had operations on a global scale but had concentrated operations in the middle east as well as throughout Asia.

The clone was his primary sparring partner, mainly due to the fact that both of them could take one another's hits. James stood opposite of Superboy in the mission room, the floor glowing while the computer counted down, "Thanks for this man, I need to do something, and I don't want to get rusty." he thanked the kryptonian as he discarded his shirt. Glancing over to the side, he caught sight of Artemis and M'gann watching while Wally and Aqualad chatted. He had noticed that the martian had a crush on the kryptonian, while he was the last person to talk about relationships, he was without a doubt glad for it, hopefully Superboy would notice soon and the two could see where it went.

When the clock hit one thought, he pushed those thoughts aside and locked eyes with Superboy, the two charged at one another, James ducked under a left hook and swung a uppercut in retaliation that superboy back stepped away from before swinging his leg out. James raised his forearm and blocked the blow, the sound of metal being struck rang through the room, James grabbed the leg and pulled to the right, swinging Superboy around before throwing him. The clone recovered and landed on his feet and hands, the only way these matches ended was if someone hit the ground so he was still in the fight, just as was James.

With so much time to himself, James had been spending a lot of time in training to try and improve himself. Since his fight with Cheshire, had was determined that their rematch would yield different results. He also made sure to practice his claw work, he knew what can kill and what didn't, it's just the human body is a pincushion and he can't slice it too bad.

Superboy charged at him and the two became locked in a grapple, Superboy slid his foot forward and hooked it around James's before pulling forward, yanking him off balance before pulling him over his shoulder and flinging James across the room before he hit the floor and rolled onto his feet, the match coming to a end. "Nice. Black Canary?" he asked as Superboy walked over and offered him a hand.

"Yeah. Though that wasn't accounting for adamantium bones." he said as he lifted the foot he hit James with and shake it slightly. He was strong, but worst he could do to James is maybe dislocate a bone or two.

Before the two could carry on, the ceiling of the cave opened up before Red Tornado descended from and landed in the center before walking away where Wally ran over in front of him, asking if he had anything for them to do. While James hated not being able to really do anything but sit around, he didn't let it show.

Or at least he tried not to.

"Someone's grumpy." James looked to his left to see Artemis looking at him with a smirk. In the short time she's joined the team, she and James quickly became friends…...mainly they took turns annoying Wally, but it wasn't like the speedster didn't deserve it, James had about had it with his passes at M'gann.

It was just plain bad pickup lines. And at the rate he made them he was few words away from being stabbed by a claw.

"I'm not grumpy." he said as Red Tornado pulled up a image from the computer of a elderly man.

"This is Kent Nelson, a friend. He is one hundred and six years old." he began, making James's eyes widen. The man looked like he was in his late eighties to early nineties, even then he didn't look too shabby. "He has been missing for twenty days. Kent was a charter member of the Justice Society. The precursor to your mentors Justice League." Red Tornado explained as Kent's image changed to that of a man in a golden helmet,with a matching cape and accessories over a blue suit.

James recognized him right away as Doctor Fate, he had seen him in old pictures with Logan. He heard Wally scoff as Kaldur realized it aloud as well, "More like Doctor Fake, guy knows a little advanced science and Dumbldors it up to impress the babes." he explained to Artemis.

James could feel a vein in his head begin to throb slightly. "Kent may simply be on one of his…...walkabouts. But he is caretaker to the helm of fate the scourge of the doctor's mystical power. And it is unwise to leave such power unguarded." he continued.

M'gann smiled. "He is like the great sorcerer priest and priestesses of Mars. I would be honored to help find him."

"Me too!" Wally added as his hand shot up. James ran a hand down his face, it was sad, a little pathetic, but also a little endearing that the speedster went to this length for a girl.

As Red Tornado handed Kaldur the key, James folded his arms over his chest. "Let me guess, stay put for me?" he asked, annoyance clear in his voice.

"Correct." Red Tornado said simply.

James wanted to spar once again, or hit something. Hitting something sounded very good right now, "If I may," Kaldur spoke up, "If Kent Nelson is not at his Tower of Fate, James's tracking could prove very useful." he offered, trying to get his friend some leeway.

"James is under strict orders not to leave the cave. That includes missions or any downtime activity." he explained, repeating the exact same words that Batman had told him after Laura was captured. As Red Tornado took his leave, Kaldur put a hand on his shoulder.

"I am sorry my friend. We do wish you could accompany us." he said honestly. James gave him a grateful smile for his vote of support, the others showed sympathy as well. James accompanied them to the hanger, walking beside Wally.

"So. Fan of magic huh?" he asked smoky with a smirk Wally looked to see if M'gann heard him, "Relax, but seriously why the hate for magic?" he asked curiously. He wasn't all that familiar with mysticism, closest he got was old Canadian tales from native tribes that were passed around at campfires to scare the hell out of kids. And if he wasn't dying to get out of the cave he would be a little apprehensive to go on a mission involving magic.

"Look it's just all tricks. Sleight of hand, little kid science." he explained in a whisper. "Besides there's no such thing as magic." he added.

James gave him a look, "You live in a world where you can break the sound barrier, where Atlantis is real. Martians are living on the red planet, and not to mention me and my family." he pointed out.

Wally raised a finger, "All of which can be proven scientifically." he argued.

"Well maybe Magic is a form of science we haven't yet discovered." James suggested with a shrug. He personally had no experiences whatsoever with magic in any form, but Laura had some crazy stories to tell him, and if he had gained any knowledge from them whatsoever was that magic was a very tricky thing.

"Exactly, 'magic' is just a advanced form of science. See? You get it." Wally said as he patted the tracker's back before speeding ahead to join M'gann, leaving James at the back of the group. He stopped before the Bioship, standing by and watching as it lifted off from the ground and flew out the doors before they closed shut, leaving him once again alone. James sighed loudly, "Well shit…..guess I'll just go watch TV again." he muttered as he made his way towards the common room. Hopefully Robin and Batman's lead on Ra's panned out and he could finally get out and help find Laura.

 **One Hour Later**

After flipping through channels for about half an hour, the young man retreated to the mission room and started a training program he'd been working on for him. James asked Wally to help teach him how to design combat programs for singular combatants, the computer could use hard light to generate humanoid bodies to spar with, the same program was how they made keyboard consoles and monitors. Now these enemies were not very challenging, they had different combat levels but James started on the lower settings so he could work his way up.

Right now he was on level three of thirty, and he didn't move on until he mastered the current level he was on. And by doing that, he made it more challenging for himself however he could, first he would fight them without any constraints, then without his claws, then without getting hit, and finally he would go through his own test. Fighting them with a blindfold and relying on his hearing to fight.

Currently, James was blindfolded with a black cloth tied around his head so it covered his eyes, standing in the middle of the room he drew his claws while he cracked his neck. "Alright computer, begin training program level three." he said, the floor hummed to life below him as it glowed. Five solid copies of human shapes made of blue light formed around him.

The five all charged him at once, James' listed as the closest one came from his left, while they did make sound he couldn't smell them, and they had no muscle, bones, or tendons to listen to for when they attacked. So it was partially a guessing game, he swung his forearm back, he felt the blades slow slightly through something about seven inches, a forearm. He quickly jabbed his other fist into where he approximated the gut to be. A sound similar to shattering glass filled the air, signaling a downed enemy.

James smirked as he heard a pair come up from behind, crouching down he leapt back in a flp, slashing his claws outward he sliced the sides of the pair's faces, if they were real people they would get a real nasty scar. His Feet slid across the floor, coming to a stop at the edge of the ring, he tilted his head at to the remaining opponents, he heard steps coming at him in a sprint, he pounced forward, embedding his claws into the shoulders, and rolling forward and colliding with another while he came to a stop and sliced the target's side.

He heard footsteps behind him, a pair, but he heard a heartbeat with both of these. Standing up he untied the blindfold and blinked before looking around. He had finished off "Batman! Rob, so what happened? We know Laura's location? I'm ready to move out." he said quickly before he say the stoic look on Batman's cowl, nothing he hasn't seen before, but Robin had a similar look ok his face. "The lead…...didn't pan out didn't it?" he asked sadly.

"The lead was solid. However there were…..complications." Batman said, while Ra's had been at the rocket launch, while this was not expected at all on Batman's part, the rocket wouldn't take off with its deadly payload. Ra's on the other hand…..

"Ra's kinda…...fell." Robin said sheepishly. Rubbing the back of his neck.

James gave him a confused look, "Fell? Like what? A flight of stairs?" he asked.

"No see I had this diamond he was gonna use like a magnifying glass on the world and i tossed it off the top of a rocket and….he really wanted it." he said, trailing off, hoping James would get the picture. He did…..and he wasn't all that happy about it.

"...Robin I'm going to break something of yours. Probably your nose." he said, finding that he needed something to hit once again. And this time preferably not a hologram. He held his hands up to his face and took a deep, relaxing, breath. "Ok, so what do we do now?" he asked, it took weeks to find this lead and now it was dust in the wind. But James knew that when it came to Batman, there were rarely dead ends.

"As I am sure your aware, Ra's isn't prone to staying dead, he will most likely make his way back to his base where he has the Lazarus Pit to revive himself." he explained, looking directly at James. "When he resurfaces, we will deal with him." he said simply, James frowned at that. "I realize that you want to help, but given the Shadow's interest in you-"

"You want me to just stay here?" James responded, he looked to the dark knight in an almost pleading look, "Batman I know that these guys are dangerous, obviously. But I can't just sit here and do nothing." he argued. In most cases he would accept Batman's ruling without question, but Laura was his family, and he wasn't going to let Batman stop him.

He found himself in a stare down with Batman, James didn't break his gaze, he was not going to back down from this. And something told him that Batman knew that, "...fine. But let me be clear, if you want to investigate, you do it on your own. You can't risk coming back to the Cave or any Zeta Tubes until you are one hundred percent sure that the Shadows are no longer after you. Understood?" he asked, his glare not letting up.

Neither did James', "Clear." he responded. Batman gave him a nod before walking towards the Zeta Tube and being teleported out of the cave, robin however stayed behind, giving the tracker his own glare. "What?" he asked.

"You realize that going after the League of Shadows all by yourself is possibly the worst plan. In the history of bad plans." he said as James started on his way towards his room to gather what he needed for his trip. "And this is coming from the guy who suggested going against the Justice League. So that's saying something." he said as they entered James' room, the tracker kneeled in front of his bed and reached under, grabbing single strap bag he pulled it out and threw it over his shoulder. Laura told him to always have a bug out bag so he could be ready to leave at the drop of a hat, he'd be back, hopefully, but the sooner he got out to the scene of the crime, the better.

"I know it's stupid, but if this was Batma….ok if this was Wally you'd help him right?" he asked, changing his example as soon as he realized how ridiculous that sounded.

The boy wonder folded his arms across his chest, "Yeah but I'd have backup." he pointed out.

James stopped in the doorway, leaning against the frame he sighed, "Look Robin, I get it, you want to help. I'm sure the others do too, but I gotta do this alone….besides I swear to fucking god if I have to stay in this cave nother week straight I might go crazy and try and kill everyone if I have to watch the History channel again." he said exasperatedly, James spent a good part of his life outdoors, and being cooped up in a cave was driving him nuts. Robin sighed, he obviously wasn't going to change his mind about this. "Look I'll be fine, just…...tell the others for me ok? I suck at goodbyes." he said.

The acrobat sighed, "Fine. But you so owe me for this." he said, pointing a finger at the young adult. James nodded before pushing off the doorframe and making his way towards the hanger. Entering the large open room, he made his way over to the Zeta Tube and typed in the location of the bridge in Manhattan, he ran over to his bike and revved it up as the interior of the tube spun to life. James slipped the helmet on over his face before pulling on the throttle and driving forward, the computer announcing his destination as he went through.

III

O

 **James' and Laura's apartment, 23:13 p.m.**

It was almost midnight when the tracker parked his bike outside his apartment. Walking around the corner of the building, he approached the side of the building where the fight had taken place. The entire alley looked fairly clean considering what had taken place in the very same spot only two weeks ago, looking above he saw that the window to their apartment had been broken out, a few stills pointing out into the night. "So the fight started in the apartment, and ended out here." he deduced as he kneeled down and sniffed the air.

Usually a scent will dissipate after a few days, however he's been around Laura's for years now, so he was hoping that he could at least pick up a trace of her. Unfortunately this proved fruitless, there was an odd odor however, it smelled similar to embalming fluid, that stuck around like a large stain in the air, "Shadows." he surmised, "But how many did she take down before she got captured?" he asked aloud. The odds of Laura being dead was astronomically small, he's seen her get her entire head be blown off and form a few days later.

However there was a familiar smell, not as potent than the odor. His nose almost touched the ground as he took a whiff, greymatter. Raising a hand he took a single claw out and scraped it into the ground, if left undisturbed then some substances can stain the ground, like how a carpet gets stained from wine. Scratching at the ground, he found a deposit of the stench. _Ok this much…...means she was on the ground, hurt before she got something to the brain. She must be conscious by now, little thing like brain damage couldn't stop her._ He thought. Before he got up, he noticed a shape under the dumpster under the fire escape.

Walking over, he shoved the garbage aside and kneeled down and picked up a katana, with blood on the blade. The blood was laura's from the smell, but the sword itself had a more fresh scent. "So you get stabbed in the brain and crated off who knows where…...well it's more than Batman and, I'll take what I can get." he said aloud. As soon as the tracker stood up, a arrow struck him in the back of his skull. Falling forward onto his hands and knees, he reached back and yanked the arrow out, "Nnnghh, took you assholes long-" he started as he turned around to see at a minimum of two dozen League of Shadow ninjas, "-enough….don't suppose any of you want to just talk?" he asked.

The enemies charged, James raised the katana and blocked a blade from cutting into him, raising the swords up he kicked the assassin back into the crowd of other ninjas. Jamming the katana down into the assassin's leg and into the ground, he didn't make any sound from the impalement. James backed off, getting some distance while he popped his claws, a pair came at him, one of them throwing shuriken at him, blocking them with his arm he slashed his claws and knocked a few blades of the blades stabbed him in the chest, his ribcage stopping it from hitting any internal organs.

He grabbed the sword, dislodged it, and then pulled on it to make the wielder come to him before headbutting him. Now usually when he headbutted a person with his metal skull, they go down for at least a hour or so. But the ninja simply stumbled back without so much as a sound of discomfort. "Ok what the hell is going on!?" James yelled as another arrow hit his thigh, making him wince in pain. Even though he had a healing factor he felt pain, but these guys didn't seem to even acknowledge his attacks!

He yanked the arrow out to find the tip coated with something other than his blood, poison, the same kind that Cheshire used on him. He heard the coiling of muscles from behind him, he ducked in time to avoid an ax trying to cut clean through his neck, he pivoted on his heel and jammed his claws into the assassin's midsection, looking up he saw that the ninja was simply staring down at him. "Bullshit." he growled out as he raised the ax over his head.

James retracted his claws and uppercutted the ninja, making stumble back into the small group that had flanked him. _Ok what the actual fuck is going on!? These guys just walk off a trio of metal claws to the thigh?_ James asked himself as he stood up and turned so that the groups were on either side of him. _How did Laura take these guys on? I mean what do I have to do, dice them like….wait…...that smell._ He thought as he smelled the same smell from before coming from the assassin's. James listened, the sound of them shuffling their feet from either side of him was all he heard at first, but that's when he noticed it.

There wasn't a single heartbeat.

"You guys aren't alive are you?" He asked, they all hesitated, James couldn't help but smirk. "Ok so here's how I see this, all you asshats? None of you are alive, don't know how and frankly I don't care. But you know what this means?" he asked. They were all silent, "Let me tell you. It means that I, a guy who has had to continuously hold back from killing everyone with my claws here, can cut loose….so on a scale of one to ten, how Fucked are you guys?" he asked, the grin spreading over his face. They all charged, James did the same, diving to his right, his claws sliced through two of the ninja's heads yanking his claws free he slashed outwards, cutting off the arm of another before a miniature scythe slit his throat, James dropped to his knees from the sudden blood loss.

He felt more throwing stars cut into his back, James gritted his teeth. Throwing his arms out he cut through the legs of three other assassins. They fell to the ground, James pushed on them, stabbing the closest two in the chest before rolling over and slamming his elbow into the skull of the third, he kicked his feet out into a pair who were about to attack. _I knew I recognized that damn smell! It's what a fucking morgue smells like!_ He thought as he recoiled his legs and jumped onto his feet ready to fight and charged forward. He rolled in front of the crowd, slashing his claws up and cutting through two full grown men, spraying him with blood that covered his arms and chest. It tasted old and rotten, James spat out the small amount that got in his mouth.

He parried a blade away with one claw and sliced the user's jugular, before turning around to another ninja and slamming his heel into his knee with enough force to snap it the opposite direction and make him bend forward at an awkward angle. He reeled his arm back and jammed his fist into the broken kneed ninja's head. Suddenly a katana burst out of his chest, making James let out a noise that resembled a growl, it was stuck in his chest cavity grabbing the blade, he pushed it back through his chest.

"Fuck you to pal!" he yelled out, kicking his foot back with a satisfying crack of their ribs, turning around he came face to face with the ninja, James noticed something as his left claws gutted him. THeir eyes, they were green, it was unnatural, solid green around the iris. Pulling his claws out, he turned to the remaining assassins. All of them armed but weren't making a move forward, in fact they were slightly backing off, "What's wrong? You thought I'd go down easy? Big surprise, now show me where X-23 is and I'll let you all go with your bodies intact." he offered, he didn't know if these guys could even talk, but it was worth a shot.

One of them dug into their pocket, James thought quickly, pulling out one of the shuriken from is firearm, he threw it at the group of assassins. Since he never even held one of the weapons before, it went exactly where he didn't want to go, into the shoulder of one of the men while the other dropped a smoke bomb. James lunged into the smoke, he wrapped his arms around what felt like the leg of one of the men, he put it into a vice grip, refusing to let go of the the smoke cleared, he was immediately kicked in the face, "Ngh, nice try jackass but I am not letting go!" he said with determination, looking at the assassin directly, the killer reached for his sword and thrust it to Jame's face, cutting out his eye ad making him shout in pain, "AHHH! You mother-" he started before pulling him down to the ground, getting on top of him and punching him in the face, "Alright dickhead, I'm giving you until my eye grows back to tell me where Laura Kinney is, or I start getting physical."he said, pointing his clawed hand at the ninja's throat.

The man reeled his head back and impaled his head onto the claws, "Jesus!" JAmes yelled, yanking his claws free, standing up, he looked around at the scene he made, the reanimated corpses littered the alley in pieces, some of them still moving, trying to carry on the battle. James himself was covered in blood, his arms were red up to his forearms with a large streak down his chest where the sword had sliced into him from. The young man ran out into the street to his bike, hoping on he took a whiff of the air, the ninjas were fairly close by and he intended to keept it that way.

Starting up his bike he drove off in the direction that the scent was heading, _Still more than what Batman got._ He thought to himself.

III

O

 **JFK Airport, New York. August 20th 5:07 a.m.**

After tailing the assassin's through the night, their trail led him to the John F. Kennedy airport, parking his bike and grabbing his beg, he walked through the parking lot, James made his way towards the airport entrance before turning to the left and walking towards the fenced off tarmac, pretending that he was looking for someone. He had taken a short stop to change his top and clean the blood off him, he very well couldn't walk to a airport covered in blood. The young man shook these thoughts aside as he walked parallel to the fence, when he was sure that he was far out of sight for any security cameras or passing cars, he unsheathed his claws and cut into the fence. Pulling the chain link apart he stepped through and made a sprint to the tarmac.

Approaching one of the hangers, he tried to look past the jet fuel filled air and try and find the corpses smell. Peaking around the side of the hanger, he saw three other airplane hangers with a few small planes out in front of each of them. _Ok obviously they need a fairly big plane, and these guys don't seem like they could blend in very well among civies, So maybe a cargo plane? Private jet?_ He thought before an idea occurred to him, pressing his hand up to his ear he activated his communicator, "Razor to cave, is anyone there?" he asked quietly.

' _This is Robin, what's man find something?_ ' the communicator replied, James crouching close to the ground as his eyes scanned the runways. There was a lull in the arrival and departures right now so he may not get another chance.

"I found a bunch of undead ninjas at the scene. A few got away and I tracked them to JFK international, I need-" he started.

' _To check all departures and see where they're heading so you can follow them? Dude I got the manifest right in front of me. Pulled it up as soon as your location came in on the com link.'_ Robin cut him off, the cockness in his voice making James roll his eyes but smile nonetheless. ' _Ok there are six flights departing within the hour, two of them heading to europe, three heading to other parts of the U.S. and one heading to Greenland.'_ none of those sounded like locations that the League of Shadows would go to for their base. ' _Let me try private charters, they need to file a flight plan with the TSA too so….ah ha! There's a cargo plane that's leaving…..oh. Right now.'_

"Goddamnit I was afraid you'd say that. Thank's boy wonder." he said gratefully as he ran out from his spot out onto the runway. Coming out of the second hanger was a large cargo plane that was pulling out from the building, as it turned onto the runway, James ran to the rear wheel. "Please work, please work, please work, please for fucks sake work!" he repeated to himself as he lunched at the wheel, his foot touched it for a second, the speed of the wheel wasn't too fast so it uplifted him to the leg of the wheel where he held on, He didn't dare stick his claws into the metal, less chance he cut something that would make the whole plane crash and burn.

The wind started to pick up as the wheel below him turned faster and faster, James shit his eyes when the dust in the air began to feel like shards of glass on his skin and eyes. When he felt himself be lifted up into the ship, he waited until he heard the doors fold close beneath him before he dare open them. He let out a breath of relief. He was now in a dark little compartment that he could barely see out of, he felt around with his hand through the compartment, there had to be a hatch workers used to inspect the compartment and maintain the leg of the wheel.

When he felt what felt like a metal door, he popped his claws and cut a hole into the cargo hold. Standing up, he hopped out of the compartment and looked around. There were a number of supplies inside the hold, large boxes containing who knew what. "Razor to Robin, I'm on the plane, you ure this is the right one?" he asked.

' _Ah come on man don't you trust me? Besides this was heading for Japan for refuel and then Rhelasia. And I figure in a few weeks they have that peace summit, who better to disturb it than the League of Shadows?'_ he asked, and the shoe seemed to fit, it's taken years for the two warring nations to agree to sit down and talk about peace. And the Shadows would more than likely attack, ' _You got about a fifteen hour flight ahead of you, might want to catch some sleep man.'_ Robin added, James nodded at his words, sleep sounded very nice right now.

"Thanks man….so how'd the others take my leave of absence?" he asked as he sat down on the ground and put his back against one of the crates, using his bag as a pillow.

' _Well M'gann tells you to be careful, Artemis said to try and not get killed, Kaldur wishes you luck with Wally, and Superboy just grunted.'_ he listed off, making James smile. Sounds about right for his friends.

'As expected. Razor out." he said before tapping his earpiece and severing communication. As he got into a comfortable position and laying his head back on his back and shutting his eyes. As he began his descent into sleep, his thoughts wandered to Lura, and how her state of well being was.

III

O

 **Unknown location**

When Laura woke up, she found out three things right away. One it was in a containeer of water with a breathing mask that had a tube going down her throat, two; her arms and feet were restrained with high powered magnets against the bottom of the tube so she couldn't use her claws. And three, she was naked.

She'd be lying if she said this was the strangest thing she woke up to. She had been faking her sleep for the past few days, trying to see if there was some weakness in the tubes. Obviously it was made with her in mind, one of the only ways to kill her were by drowning, granted that too wasn't a surefire way of permanent death, if someone were to empty the water from her lungs and brain she could very well come back. But this was just in theory, and she had no wish to stress test this idea.

"You can stop pretending, I know you're awake." Laura's eyes snapped open within the tank of water at the voice. On the other side of the glass was a woman, she had long, black hair and piercing green eyes. Laura's blood boiled at the sight of her, she wanted to break out of her confinement and sink her claws into her throat. "Been awhile hasn't it? I heard your a big sister now. I'm a little mad you haven't introduced me to him." the woman said.

Kimura. Her former handler from her days as a assassin, The woman who tortured her for weeks on end as a form of control. Weeks of being beaten, cut, and put through hell from this woman. _I am going to tear your fucking throat out!_

"You're angry. That's a good start. Let's see if we can't step it up from there." the and;er said as she pressed a keypad on the side of the tube. Suddenly the clear water was filled with something green, Laura's eyes widened in horror, her anger turned to fear, it was her trigger, a chemical compound that put her under control of Kimura, Martian Manhunter tried to wipe the control it had over her, but it was embedded into her genes, but fortunately most of the people who knew about the scent were dead, by her own hand. She held her breath, if she killed herself then maybe the trigger wouldn't take, but the tube in her throat made it useless. "Nice try, but I already thought of that. But don't be scared, your brother should be on his way here now."

 _No…...James…...I'm-_ Laura thought before the trigger finally reached her, her eyes turning red as a growl formed in her throat. She thrashed around from within the tank as Kimura smiled sadistically from outside, she was going to have some fun with Laura.

 **AN: Now before I get shit, I know that only Ra's uses the pitt but there is a explanation for the zombie ninjas, it will be explained and I think you will all find the explanation will fit into the grand scheme of things. Now the mission I referenced at the start of this story was from the Young Justice comic book series based on the show itself.**

 **Now while Wolverine and Japan have a history together, this probably isn't what you think it is, but don't worry James will be heading to sunshine land for other reasons eventually.**

 **Also the new Logan trailer was amazing if you haven't seen it yet. We finally get to see a proper R rated wolverine movie with Hugh Jackman in it, I do hope that the next time we see him on the big screen Wolverine will be part of the MCU (as unlikely as it currently seems). Either that or a live action TV series that shows Logan's life through the ages.**

 **Either way, until next time everyone.**


	7. Chapter 7: Targets

**Targets**

 **September 7th 6:45 p.m. 2010. Rhelasia**

James has had a very unfortunate past two weeks, for one thing he had to ditch the cargo plane when it touched down to refuel so he didn't get caught. he made sure to slow the plane down as well by cutting a through a few dozen wires for good measure, when they found the latch to the rear wheel of the plane had been damaged as well as the wiring cut to hell, the plane was detained for repairs for a two weeks so thankfully he would have a few time to beat the plane to Rhelasia. So after sneaking out of the airport, James managed to find a port with a ship merchant ship heading to the country. Thankfully he spoke English, but he did need to pay for the voyage, and with no money he had to trade several his clothes and a few more expensive items he had for voyage.

One thing this trip gave him was time to think, mainly think of how to get the League of Shadows to stand down. The only conclusion he had come to was to make it their benefit to stop their pursuit. Obviously, he couldn't bribe them but something along those lines might be necessary.

He had money of course but none of it was Yen, and conversion rates confused the ever-loving hell out of him. James then spent the next week and a half riding in a slow rickety boat around Japan all the way to Rhelasia, and then spent the days up until now hitchhiking to where the peace talks between North and South would take place. "If Laura is not dead yet, then I swear to god I am going to kill her when I find her." he muttered out in frustration as he walked down the street of the city. With the ninjas plane heading to this country on this date, then there could be only one reason they would be here, to make sure this treaty didn't get signed.

He did manage to find the address by asking a few journalists who were in town for the event, it took him a while but he was finally found the hotel where the peace signing was taking place.

Walking through the crowd, James kept his ear, and nose, out for anything that seemed out of place. When he heard something metal jingle around in a metal case, he looked to the source of the sound and saw a familiar ginger haired hero. Walking up behind him, James tapped him on the shoulder, making him whirl around at the ready, "Hey Speedy." James greeted cheekily.

The former sidekick grimaced, "What are you doing here?" he growled out as he [pulled James behind one of the pillars outside the hotel entrance.

"I'm here looking for the League of Assassins." He said plainly. "I fought a bunch of undead ninjas outside my apartment where my sister got kidnapped from, tracked them to a airport and onto a plane headed for here, grounded the plane for a few days before I had to make my way across goddamn Japan and getting a ride to here." He explained efficiently.

Red Arrow stared at him for a few seconds before sighing, "I hate how that makes sense." He groaned, "I figure the same thing. But since the League isn't allowed to operate on countries, like North Rhelasia, that aren't with the Justice League charter of the UN. They can't come here unless invited." He explained. While the Justice League did save the world and didn't have any sort of bias as to who they save, the League was based on American soil and all their members where American citizens.

"And since you're not a member of the League, you can come here no strings attached." James connected the dots, "Look when the Shadows show up, I need to question them." He explained.

Roy was unconvinced, "I don't work with newbies." He said simply.

James sneered, "Well then if that's how you feel then maybe I should alert security to the dangerous individual with a concealed weapon." He said, gesturing to the briefcase that the archer carried. Roy glared at him from behind his sunglasses "I'll just be over there near the stalls, also only morons wear shades at night." He said before walking off into the crowd as a white car pulled up in the roundabout in front of the hotel, James kept to the crowd, looking as normal as he possibly could as a Canadian in Taipei could be.

The traveler walked through the crowd, feigning being a tourist, before he stopped beside an information brochure booth. James looked around the crowd and saw n one that really stood out, then again assassins didn't promote themselves or anything. "Hey there." James looked over to see a young woman, she had black hair tied up into a ponytail with a blue ballcap on as well with a matching zip up hoodie and white undershirt. She didn't look like she was around here and her English was near perfect.

"Oh hi…..um have we met before? You seem a little familiar." He noticed, she smirked almost playfully at him. It hit James a second later, Cheshire. Grabbing her by the collar of her shirt he spun them and behind the booth out of sight. Pinning her against the wall with his forearm, he raised his other hand and unsheathed his claws. "Talk. NOW." He growled out, the tip of his middle claw just centimeters away from her nose.

Her smirk didn't falter, "You know I don't usually go this far on the second date but for you? Maybe I'll make an exception." She whispered huskily so only James could hear her. The young man fought a blush down and kept sneering at her.

"Let me put this another way. Tell me where my sister is and you don't wind up in a Rhelasiain prison." He threatened, for lack of a better term James was at his snapping point. Between having to fly halfway across the world and had to travel across two countries where he didn't know the language.

The assassin rolled her eyes before the hero felt something on his chest, looking down James saw that she had placed a sticky bomb on his chest. "You have about three minutes to get that to a safe distance. Of course you'll be fine, anyone around you however…well." James let go of her and looked down at his chest, Cheshire had cut open his shirt with a small knife and put a stick bomb on his chest. "If it's any consolation, I like what I see." She said, eyeing his now exposed chest.

James glared at her before turning around and running away, "Crazy goddamn assassins, I swear to Christ first she flirts with me and then puts a bomb on my chest!" he grumbled out as he passed several people, shoving pedestrians out of his way, turning into a narrow alleyway between buildings where the crowd was far less condensed. "Ok this is good enough." He said aloud before raising his left hand and popping his middle claw, "This is going to suck." he groaned out before cutting the flesh around the adhesive. Hissing in pain, James yanked the bomb off and kneeled and threw it into a storm drain.

Standing up, James turned back the way he came and sprinted for the hotel just as Cheshire climbed up on top of the information booth with a RPG launcher. As she pulled the trigger, an arrow hit the underside of the barrel, knocking it upwards and firing the missile up into the air. James tackled Cheshire from behind. The two tumbled onto the street, Cheshire pinning James down with her Sai pointed down at his throat while James's claws did the same. "Please you think that will actually stop me?" the hero asked.

The sounds of guns cocking make both of them look up to see that they were surrounded by guards and policemen, "Officers…this is…..actually what it looks like." James said as he retracted his claws as a sign that he meant no harm to them. Cheshire dropped her weapons and raised her hands which where cuffed by an officer, before James was as well. As they were escorted to a police cruiser, James saw the delegate that was supposed to negotiate peace between the two countries. He was genuinely surprised to see it was Lex Luthor.

"Wait hold up…..that was who you were…..did I just save Lex Luthor?" he asked as they were both put in the back of the police cruiser. James never encountered the business Mongol before, however his name was synonymous within the hero community for getting away with whatever he wanted. Laura told him stories of how he danced around laws through legal loopholes like no one else. "Shit I saved a bad guy."

"Yeah you did. You wishing you let me get on with my job now?" Cheshire asked, James turned to face her, she was still smirking. The back of the car was cramped, they were barely touching one another and that was they were both pressed up against the doors, James was at least, she was more casual about the situation.

"Depends would you have stuck a bomb to my chest then?" James asked, unlike Laura and his father, his healing factor wasn't as fast as theirs. It could be for a few reasons, his age, how little he got hurt compared to them, but for whatever reason his healing took longer than theirs. Right now the cut was healed but that was because it was fairly shallow.

"You want me to kiss it and make it better?" she asked with a wink, James stared at her. He honestly was unsure how to deal with Cheshire, usually he just dealt with gun touting idiots who shot first and asked questions later. But she was an assassin, she was calculated, methodic, she flirted with him while she planted a sticky bomb on his chest for crying out loud. How does someone get reliable information out of her? The door on his side opened, one of the officers gestured for him to get out.

Exiting the car, the officers uncuffed his hands, "They confirmed that he's with the Wolverine girl." Luthor explained to the police as Rou Harper stood off to the side, not looking pleased at all. James couldn't blame him, Lex was like eel, slippery enough to get out of your gasp and bite you in the neck.

"They must be questioned." One of the officers started.

"Lex Luthor vouches for them." The dignitary said with a smile, James suddenly felt dirty for being vouched for by the bald man. "Release the sidekicks." He urged. The officer nodded before unlocking Roy's handcuffs, the archer giving a protest to being called a sidekick

"We don't want any help from you Luthor." Roy said bitterly. For once, James saw that he was siding with the archer on this one. The hero watched as the car carrying Cheshire pulled away, she was his only lead to finding where Laura might be. He couldn't let her get away.

III

O

After finding the police station that Cheshire was being held at, James and Roy both went in to question her after Roy had a talk with Luthor. On the way, however, James went into further detail about the events that led him here. The undead ninja whom he fought at the scene of the crime, someone being skilled enough to take his sister down. "I don't like this. They must have sent Cheshire in place of the group." Roy reasoned, the two of them standing outside the room Cheshire was in.

James nodded, "So what can we do? She obviously won't just give anything up." He pointed out, while Cheshire may have enjoyed playing this game she obviously wasn't a ditz, she planned and could adjust her plans. Her mission to Happy Harbor showed that much. Roy seemed deep in thought, "What is it?" he asked.

"I'm thinking that she and those assassins you fought are connected. You told the cops about the plane coming in, right?" he asked, James nodded, "Well what if they're her backup?" he suggested. The tracker thought back to his last mission, she was no stranger to working with others. And dozens of undead ninja assassins at her beck and call? She could easily complete this assignment of hers.

"They could also just send the Shadows directly to Luthor though…I can guard her, you can take Luthor, that way we can cover both our bases." He suggested.

Roy didn't look pleased with the arrangement but he nodded, "Makes sense. I'll play overwatch on Luthor. In the meantime, see what you can get out of our 'guest'." He said, tilting his head to the door before heading to the elevator and talking it down. James sighed, he wished he could call the team in for this but this was something he needed to do, Laura was still missing and he needed to find her.

Walking to the door, he entered the room with half of it being a cell for the assassin who was currently going through a series of motions. James had seen Laura do similar stretches before they attack someone, he never saw the point since neither her or she got cramps. She noticed him enter the room, "Well, well, well. Couldn't wait to see me again?" she asked smirking as she carried on with her routine.

James crossed his arms over his chest, he was provided with a zip up hoodie after his clothes had been cut open and he almost got blown up. "More like I need answers and you're the only one who can give me them." He replied as he leaned against the desk beside the door to the room. The plus side was that James could tell whenever she was lying with his senses, he just needed to play his cards right.

Cheshire slowly pushed her arms out with her hands flat against one another before separating them with an exhale of her breath, "It sounds like you need me." She pointed out coyly.

James looked at her blankly, "Yea. I do." He saw the woman smirk at him as she withdrew her arms inward and lifted her legs upwards and rested it on the bars to her cell. _Don't look, don't look, will of iron will of iron, will of-oh wow she is flexible._ James thought, taking a glance at the assassin's leg as it stretched under her dark green kimono. _FOCUS HUDSON! SISTER NOW, HOT NINJA LADY LATER!_

"Say, where's your little friends? We had so much fun playing last time. Especially with Ar-chery girl. I like her." She quickly corrected herself, but James caught it. Did she know who Artemis is? James's mind flashed back to when he met Artemis's mother, she mentioned another daughter…..and Cheshire did have some similar features…..

 _It's a gamble….but…_

"Really? The way she tells it, you have a knack for 'playing' like this." He said, hoping his gamble would pay off. Cheshire's eyes widened with interest, he had to fight the smirk that was pulling at his lips, "Look Jade, if you tell me where my sister is….well MY sister would beat the shit out of me if I turned bad." He said, the assassin walking forward towards the bars of the cell and locking her arms around the outside.

"Hmmmm…I scratch your back, you reach in and scratch mine?" she asked, James pushed off the desk and strode over in front of her and nodded. "Well I would help you handsome…. but I don't know where your sister is." James frowned, not because of her answer, but because it was the truth as far as she knew.

He sighed, "I fight a dozen undead ninjas, stowaway on a cargo plane to cross a ocean all for nothing…story of my life." The young man muttered to his own frustration. He felt like he just wasted his time, not to mention he didn't have a lead now. Laura could be back in Japan for all he knew.

"Wait undead ninjas? You're kidding, right?" Cheshire asked, James eyes locked with hers. She didn't know about them? That meant that must mean that they weren't with the League of Shadows…but then who did he fight with in New York? And who took Laura? Before he could ask these questions, he noticed Cheshire brace herself against the metal bars of her cell. "Sorry in advance lover."

A second later James was blown back against the door, denting it from his impact, his ears were ringing from the loud bang. Looking up he saw a large hole in the wall that was blown in from outside, Cheshire was coughing from what little smoke she inhaled while a rope repelled down from the roof with Sportsmaster on the line. James shakily stood up and the two bickered before Cheshire ran out the hole and grabbed onto the cable.

James shook his head before popping his claws, slicing out a section of the cell, he jumped out he hole after them. Falling a good twenty feet until he hit the rooftop that the pair had escaped onto. James fought the pain in his legs as they mended while he ran after them, his ears were back to the way they were and he could hear the hum of a helicopter a few rooftops ahead. Of them, Sportsmaster looked back at James. "Christ does nothing kill this kid?!" he asked as he grabbed a sharpened boomerang and threw it back at the tracker.

The young hero raised his claws and sliced it apart before it could hit him. The tracker fallowed them across rooftops towards the helicopter, he needed a plan though, once it was up in the air he couldn't hope to keep up. And tracking it could take hours, "Ok, so plan B." he muttered, watching as both Sportsmaster and Cheshire climbed into the copter. James saw a doorway to the rooftop on the same rooftop.

As the aircraft began to take off, James ran towards the slanted back of the door wat and used it as a ramp before leaping off the end to the helicopter. He was just short of grabbing it with his hands, but not his claws. His blades were about a foot long do they added to his reach just enough for them to plunge into the underside of the aircraft. Unfortunately, there was nothing else for him to grab onto, so James could only dangle on by his claws for the entire trip.

To say he was not a fan would be understating it.

III

O

It took about an hour before the helicopter slopped down towards a small island in the middle of a lake with a temple making up most of the island. Before he reached the island, he retracted his claws and dropped into the surrounding lake and sawm the rest of the way to the island. Now due to his coated bones with metal, swimming was a little more difficult because his adamantium laced bones. When he was younger and his powers didn't manifest themselves yet, he could swim easily. But now? It was like swimming with an anvil on his back.

Thankfully he made it to the shore of the island easily, the base of the temple wall was littered with large rocks in front of the wall. Scurrying up the side of one of the stones, he slid his claws out from between his fingers and jammed them into the wall and use them to scale the flat surface. It took him a few seconds to reach the top of the wall as the Copter took off from the grounds and flew away. Reaching the slanted tile roof of the wall, he crawled on his stomach to the ledge, seeing Cheshire and Sportsmaster bickering.

James felt his fist clench at the sight of the man, he had shot most of the young man's face off back on their first mission. But that made him wonder, what did the Shadows have to do with the production of a super steroid with a formula from Cadmus Labs? He was about to leap into action when he picked up someone from approach from inside the temple, out from the shadows stepped a man in green and white robes, a green cape that went down his back, and black hair that pointed up on the sides like horns. Ra's Al Ghul, the leader of the League of Shadows.

James couldn't help but grin, _Well I didn't plan on this but no way in hell am I looking a gift horse in the mouth._ James thought as Cheshire kneeled before her master.

"I expected a better outcome, and less interference from the two heroes. Speaking of," he turned to where James was hiding, "How is it neither of you noticed your guest?" he asked, the two turned to see James on the top of the wall. James stood up jumped down from the wall to the temple grounds, he marched onward towards Ra's. "Ah, the Wolverine's son. I heard rumors but when you encountered young Cheshire here, told me about her encounter with you I was surprised that she lived to tell the tale." The master said as his two assassins drew their weapons.

James ignored him, "I'm going to ask once. Just once. And if you lie? We'll see how well you lead when I take both your legs." James growled out, "Where. Is. Laura?" he asked, punctuating each word with a claw popping out on each hand. Cheshire and raised her Sai as Sportsmaster pulled out a cylinder that expanded into a javelin.

Before they could attack however, Ra's raised a hand to stop them, "While I am aware that his clone is missing, I do not know where Wolverine's daughter is. However, I find it quite ironic that you would come to me when I myself was trying to find a way to make that happen. You've saved me a lot of trouble." James glared at him, not for the threat but also because he was telling the truth. Before he could respond however, an arrow pierced through his chest, looking down he hissed in pain before he was yanked backwards off his feet.

Looking back he swore under his breath, the undead ninjas were back. The ones that had gotten away had returned and their numbers were doubled. Thirty ninjas strong surrounded the walls of the temple. Yanking the arrow out, James turned back to the ninjas as they dropped down from the walls, "So wait, these guys aren't yours?" James asked Ra's as both Sportsmaster and Cheshire drew their weapons as James popped his claws.

"No. They are not." Ra's growled out angrily.

The ninjas took that as their chance to attack, five of them focused on James. The tracker charged forward with a yell, he parried the first one's Katana to the side before slicing their jugular, green blood pouring out before James kicked him in the chest into his cohort. James stabbed him through the eyeholes of his mask as he caught his dead again friend. The other two came from around the sides, one of them with a spear the other with twin scythes. James ended them with imbedding one hand into each of their chests, however this left himself open when the fifth and final attacker ran his sword through James.

The young man grunted in discomfort before ripping his claws out of the two ninjas and swinging both at the final one's neck, severing it from his body. James fell to his knees, one hand clutching the handle of the sword and the other on the ground, keeping him upright. Yanking the sword out of his chest, he breathed hard for a few moments before a foot kicked him in the face and knocked him onto his back. Looking up at his attacker, he saw he ninja welding two hatchets. Raising them over his head, a Sai impaled into his chest before Cheshire jumped forward and kicked him back, grabbing her weapon in the process. Before backflipping off and landing beside James in a crouch.

"Ok between the attempted bobbing and saving me? You are sending some real mixed signals." He said as he felt the hoe in his chest heal, he got back up onto his feet. He saw Sportsmaster slice the jugular of one of the ninjas with a fencing sword while Ra's snapped the neck of one without much trouble.

"What can I say? Your much more fun than the usual tights. Plus, if I heard it right, you did try and kill daddy dearest back there." she said, gesturing back to Sportsmaster before rising her Sai, holding one of them reverse style and parrying the blade of a new attacker and jabbing the other into their chest before turning around and throwing him over her shoulder. "Plus, we work well together, you get your hands dirty." She said as James cut the arm off one of the attackers and kicked him away.

"Ok one; blondie over there is your dad? Two; I didn't mean to try and kill him. And three; these guys are basically zombie ninjas. They're not people." He countered before joisting one in the face with enough force to knock him to the ground where Cheshire finished him off by crushing his neck with her heel. "And if you think we work together…don't suppose I could convince you to turn to the good side?" he offered. Whatever Cheshire may have done, he knew full well that Laura had probably done worse.

As he turned to look at Cheshire, he found himself face-to-mask with her, her arms looped around him to stab a ninja who James was about to kick away in the eyes. She leaned against him for support, her frame fitting into his slightly larger one. "Maybe…. how well can you convince me later?" she suggested.

James pushed her away just as a sword sliced down where her arms were a second ago, James swung his left claw up across his face. Just as James was about to open his mouth to reply, a primal roar pierced the night air, a feminine roar. James's head snapped to the right only to have a pair of claws slice through his neck. He fell onto his knees as he held his bleeding neck wound, he struggled to look up but he forced himself to crane his neck back, blood spurting out as he did.

Standing over him was Laura, her eyes were blood red and trained solely on him. She also had a collar around her neck as well an earpiece, "Laura-" he choked out before Laura drew both her arms back and lunged them at him. He quickly blocked her blades with his own, locking them together before throwing her off to the side. Rolling across the ground, Laura let out a feral growl, James backed up along with Cheshire.

"That's your sister?!" Cheshire asked as she and him both backed away from the feral girl. Ra's and Sportsmaster joined the two, Laura's attention shifted to the Demon's Head and growled.

James looked over to Ra's and back to Laura, an idea came to mind, "Tell you what Ra's, you want to go to your pit in one piece? Leave me alone and I'll make sure my sister doesn't make you into jigsaw puzzle." He demanded, Ra's looked at him with a slight glare. He somewhat respected that he was willing to make such a demand of him, however…..if he was forced to visit the Lazarus Pit right now, numerus plans of his would be placed on hold…

"Fine, if you manage to survive then I accept this deal." He said before turning to his two assassins, "Sportsmaster, Cheshire, come. This is a family affair." He said before turning around and heading towards the temple. Cheshire gave him one last glance before retreating with her father and master. James turned his attention back to Laura, Ra's did have a point though.

In all their sparring sessions, he never once beat Laura. However, that was when she was aware of herself, as she was right now she could barely focus on him with the collar zapping her to focus on Ra's. She made a B line for the temple, but James was between her and her destination In a moment, "Laura, listen I know you are in there. Just calm down and-"

"RRRRRRRAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Laura screamed before lunging at him, James leaned back to avoid the slice aimed at his head, she thrusted her right hand forward, James parried it but her uppercut across his chest before she swung her foot up and kicked him in the chin. While James didn't heal as fast as Laura, he had his entire skeletal system covered in metal, she wouldn't break any bones no matter how hard she hit. But it still hurt like hell.

He ducked under a slash and cut the side of her leg before backing off, she limed towards him with wild abandon. James stopped a few feet away, Laura used that change to lunge at him again, this time he sidestepped to his left, Laura landed on her side. The sound of an unsheathing claw was heard before Laura swiped her foot, and the claw sprouting out from it, into the back of his foot, making him yell out in pain as he feel onto a knee. Laura swung her foot forward into his chest, kicking him onto his back.

She was over him a second later, jabbing her fists into his chest and cutting into James with wild abandon. James couldn't top screaming, the pain was overwhelming, the wounds were being cut just as fast as they were stitching themselves back together. James could barely think, he thought of the pain he was feeling, the sadness for Laura that she was doing this against her will, bust most of all he felt anger, anger that someone would turn Laura into this killing machine.

And within that anger, James thought of only one thing, fighting back.

He grabbed her arms as they plunged her blades into his chest, she tried to yank them out but James had them in a vice grip. He suddenly yanked her down and swung his head back before ramming forward into hers, and then again, and again, and again, each time the echo of his metal skull colliding with hers ringing his ears. Laura's arms began to slack, with one final headbut she fell off him. James coiled his arms inward over his chest, the cuts slowly healing themselves.

But Laura struggled to get up, just as much as James did, _Wait…that's it!_ He suddenly realized as he tried to sit up, only to find that his abdominal muscles were not ready for that. But Laura, she was on all fours now, "Aw shit." James groaned out, she once again lunged at him, his last ditch effort was to kick his foot up to try and keep her off him until he was back in the fight. Time seemed to slow to a crawl, his foot came up just short of her chin.

SINKT!

Laura stopped in midair, her blood red eyes now back to normal and looking at James with a blank stare, as two claws came out the top of her skull. Both originating from James's foot. The young hero was shocked, "Holy Shit." He uttered, gob smacked by the revelation that he also had a pair of foot claws in each foot. It was at that point the pain came in," GAH SON OF A BITCH!" he yelled as he retracted his newly discovered claws, Laura slumping onto the stone ground.

He lay there, his chest and foot bloody, the tracker reached up to his ear and tapped his commlink to life, "Cave this is Razor…..tell me someone is home or I will be pissed."

 _'_ _James, this is Kaldur, it's good to hear from you my friend.'_ Aqualad's voice greeted. James sighed in relief.

"Ok Kaldur, I'm in Rhelasia, I need you to get here with the ship….and if you can get something strong enough to put an elephant to sleep…. we're going to need it." He said, looking down at Laura.

III

O

After securing Laura in the Bioship with a supply of knockout gas being used to keep her out cold until they could get her some proper treatment. After meeting up with Roy, the three came up with a plan for the peace summit. James, in a change of clothes and new shoes, stood in the doorway leading to the conference room where the peace talks were commencing. The room only had this one entrance, the room itself was a long rectangular room with tables spread throughout to the window on the far side with the meeting table in front of the wall opposite the window.

James didn't pick up Sportsmaster but Cheshire was here, impersonating a waitress among the guests, she wore a traditional Rhelasiain style dress with white face paint and cherry red lipstick, her wild hair now tied into two buns. "Aqualad, she's here. Your six o'clock." He spoked into his com as he moved to behind one of the pillars for cover. He watched from the shadows as the assassin pushed a cart towards the back of the crowed. Aqualad turned to stop her, the assassin grimaced as she kicked the cart towards him and Jumped back.

James curled up in a ball and covered his head as the cart exploded with enough force to shatter the windows on the opposite end of the room. Standing up, James had to wait for the smoke to clear before he saw the dome of water that shielded the civilians and diplomats from the explosion. Kaldur was breathing heavy from exerting his powers to that extent but it was clearly worth it. Looking out onto the floor he saw that Cheshire had also survived the explosion, she got up onto her feet just a helicopter lowered outside the window with Sportsmaster hopping out and onto the floor along with a dozen real League of Assassin ninjas. James ran over to join Aqualad as he ripped off the remains of his civilian disguise, "You ok?" he asked.

"Somewhat tired, but I can fight." He said as he gathered water from the floor to the handles of his weapons while James faced down the new opponents, he and Cheshire locked eyes, she was smirking at him. James looked back to see Roy hop over some rubble to join them, drawing his bow and aiming it at Cheshire.

"You two got this?" James asked.

"Trust me, I've been meaning to have some words with Cheshire." Roy growled out.

Cheshire smirked, "I'm flattered, but me and your friend already have a working relationship. We're going to have a reunion dinner."

James gave her a weird look before and turned around and running to the main table while the guards went to join in the fight, stopping before the table he spoke, "Everyone, move!" he ordered, pointing towards the exit, Luthor, his assistant, and the other two leaders of North and South got up from their seats and fallowed James towards the exit. So far their plan was working, while Roy and Aqualad held off the Assassins, he was to get the four somewhere safe where they can finish talks.

James escorted them down the hall towards the elevator, "Ok everyone inside." He said, stepping off to the side and letting the four pass him before entering himself jus shuriken was thrown down the hall at him. Using his back as a shield he blocked it from hurting any of the occupants before stepping inside himself and hitting the close button and hitting one of the buttons at random.

"Ok look, here's what is going to happen." He said, turning around to face the North and South's reps along with Luthor. He pointed to both, "You two are going to make nice before the ninjas turn us all into mincemeat." He said, the two Rhelasiains looked at each other with a scowl while James hit the emergency switch, stopping the elevator between floors.

"You ask us to simply forgive the North at the drop of a hat? Never!" Zang said, pointing to the North's rep. Lee looked offended by that remark, James looked over to Luthor, expecting him to try and intervene and defuse the situation, yet he did nothing. James growled out.

"The north?! You Southern Dogs have been tolerated long enough!" Lee proclaimed.

"ENOUGH!" James shouted out, making both men look at him, "Look, here's what is going to happen. That assassin who tried to take out Luthor here? She was trying to make it s that these talks never had a chance! And her friends are not going to stop trying to kill you all unless you all make nice!" he summarized. "So either you both die, and your people end up killing each other. After you two both get killed over stubbornness pf course." James said blatantly.

The two looked at one another with slight glares, "He is not wrong." Lex chimed in, "You both came here because you wanted peace. These assassins are here to make sure you two gentlemen didn't come here what you set out to do. Find peace." He added, James looked at the moderator with a critical eye. The two seemed to take in Luthor's words into consideration.

"You are both right…..but years of turmoil cannot be soothed overnight." Lee stated.

James ran a hand over his face, he should have expected as much but this was starting to get ridiculous. They had their lives on the line and they were just as stubborn. But they were right in a sense, for years these two counties have been fighting one another for years, "It wouldn't be easy…..but if you don't make it out of here, would y rather die for nothing? Or give it a chance?" James asked.

Lee and Zang looked at one another, the words of the young adult were true. Lee reached his hand out, Zang shook it. James sighed, "Ok great now-"

 _Ding!_

James turned around to the door to see a lone Assassin standing there with his blade raised over his head. Before James could pop his claws, Lex simply looked at his assistant. "Mercy?" he asked, his assistant raise her hand, suddenly her arm fell apart and blast of yellow energy shot out of her palm into the assassin, killing him. James had to do a double take, Mercy's arm was pure synthetic. Nothing but robotics, Lex notice his stare and smirked, "You didn't think you were the only one with metal limbed friends, were you?" he asked, not missing the impressed looks of Zang and Lee.

III

O

"I can't believe this." James muttered as he, Red Arrow, and Kaldur watched as Lex Luthor was coined as the man who reunited North and South. Aqualad and Red Arrow had managed to drive of Cheshire and Sportsmaster, however now that the peace signing was officially made, it rendered the contract null and void. "I mean this is a good thing but it's…."

"Rotten." Red Arrow finished, getting nods from the other two heroes as they exited the entrance hall.

"At least Laura is safe…..but this isn't over." James began as they exited the building and out onto the street, "Someone else kidnapped her. Someone impersonating the Shadows. And they can bring back the dead." He pointed out to the pair."

Roy crossed his arms over his chest, "Trouble doesn't seem to end there. Sportsmaster claimed to know about your guy's ops in Beyalia and Santa Prisca. He has a mole." He explained, making James's eyes widen, there was a mole on the Team? Someone he trusted, working with the Shadows. The thought made his blood boil.

"But since you didn't even go to Beyalia, you couldn't be the mole." Aqualad spoke up at James, "So if this mole exists it can't be you."

James raised a eye, "If? You don't buy it?" the tracker asked curiously.

The Atlantean shook his head, "I do not take a Sportmaster's word. For all we know this could be a ruse to sow seeds of mistrust." He pointed out, James and Roy both nodded, this was information from a unreliable source to say the least, if James had been there he might have been able to tell. Aqualad looked to James, "We should investigate this matter, quietly." James nodded in response.

"Good luck with that." Roy said, giving them both a mock salute before beginning to walk off.

"A moment y friend." Aqualad began, making Roy stop to turn and look at him, "You could have called the League and told me to take James when I arrived, Instead, you didn't rebuke our help." He noticed. James smiled, this was Kaldur's way of saying I told you so in the politest way possible.

Roy sighed, "Your right, the Team has my respect…. not that you need it." He said before walking back and shaking his friend's hand. Roy turned to James, James stared back, the tracker sighed before holding out a hand that Roy shook as well.

As the archer left the pair, James glanced over at Kaldur. "So, anything interesting happen while I was on leave?" he asked.

 **September 8** **th** **, 7:00 a.m. Happy Harbor, Mount Justice**

James watched the monitor to the med bay while Laura slept, the trigger was being forced out of her system using a serum that Batman developed, the caped crusader was standing beside him watching as well while Superboy, Miss Martian, and Aqualad watched from a few feet away. "It will be a few days before the trigger scent is flushed from her body. As best we could tell she was introduced to a staggering amount, we'll know more after she wakes up." Batman said before turning at James. "In the meantime, I'm more concerned about these assassins you encountered pretending to be part of the Shadows."

James nodded, "Well the assassins turn to dust after they're defeated and they don't seem get knocked out. If we encounter another we'll try and get a sample to see how they come back." He said, Batman nodding at his words before walking towards the Zeta Tubes and beaming away to Gotham. As soon as the Bat was gone, James fund himself wrapped up in a hug by M'gann.

"It's great to have you back home!" the Martian greeted happily as James hugged her back, pulling away, he and Conner gave each other a fist bump, giving each other a welcoming smile.

"It's good to be back. So you two attended school today right? How was that?" he asked. The newly dubbed Conner Kent and Megan Mores told him about their day at High School. He was happy that M'gann had joined the cheerleaders and that Superboy had gotten a alter ego name.

"Still can't believe that I got foot claws like Laura. Man now I'm going to need to double up on my shoes." He muttered as h looked down at his feet. The three had moved to the living room of the cave.

"How did you not figure out you had foot claws before?" Conner asked curiously.

"Same way you didn't know you couldn't fly." James countered with a smirk, the clone punching his shoulder with a chuckle, "Look you guys got school right? You better head out before your late." He said, the two nodded before standing up and giving him their goodbyes. After they left, James laid down on the couch and turned on the TV.

 _Laura is safe, the Shadows won't be hounding me anymore, and I'm back home…but there's someone after Laura and me. And it's not the Shadows._ James thought to himself. _Not only that but Cheshire is Artemis's sister…man no wonder she didn't tell us. Who can blame her…but she doesn't seem entirely bad. I've met worse assassins….hey didn't she say something about a reunion dinner?_ He thought curiously.

Suddenly he sat up, first time they met was here in Happy Harbor. Running to the garage he saw that his bike had been recovered from the airport, hopping on he pulled his helmet on over his face and starred the engine before driving towards the exit. He drove through the worn path leading to the mountain onto the main road leading into town. Making his way through the town, he slowed to a stop outside the small computer shop they had set up for the doctor while she developed a virus for the Fog.

James parked his bike and left the helmet on the bike seat, the front of the store was cordoned off with yellow police tape and the broken front door still in front of the store. Ducking under the tape, James entered the store. Taking a whiff of the air he caught her scent, walking around the counter and to the back door he opened the steel door to find Cheshire leaning against the back of the building in front of him. Instead of her costume she instead wore a outfit similar to that of when she was in disguise as a vendor.

"Was wondering if you were going to show up." Cheshire greeted as the door closed behind James, he felt his claws slide underneath his skin, ready to pop out and fight. Cheshire saw his hands tense up, "Before we wrestle, you should know that my master intends to hold up your bargain. He won't hunt you down for the trouble your father caused him." She said, James didn't let his guard down however, he circled around to her side a few feet away just to be safe.

"Then why are you here?" he asked.

She looked over James before looking ahead of her, "You managed to twist the Demon Head's arm to get you off the hook. He wanted me to deliver the message." She explained simply. She glanced over to see that he didn't buy that entirely. "Artemis….and my mother….they know I went down this road. I did it because I had to."

"Not that you wanted to." James guessed, she kept silent. James retracted his blades back into his forearms. He didn't smell any hostility from her, and she didn't look like she meant to do him harm. "It's not too late-"

"To turn good? Please like I haven't heard that a million times." She said, looking away from him. "It's a nice sentiment but you don't have much to back it up." She said with venom in her voice.

"My sister has killed more people in her life than you even have, and that was when she was six. She's part of the Justice League. It's not a pipe dream." He insisted.

Cheshire sighed, it wasn't like he was wrong, she had heard of the damage that X-23 had caused and she was still widely thought to be a hero. "And in doing so I paint a big fat target on my head that the Shadows try and hit." She pointed out.

James shrugged, "Well who says you need to tell them?" he asked, Jade looked at him auspiciously, "Look if I learned anything from this little mission it's that the Shadows are businessmen. They wouldn't go after you if you say, knew every one of their dirty little secrets and threatened to spill them all-" he guided.

Jade went over the proposition in her head, "You want me as a mole."

James leaned against the same wall she did, "Originally I was going to track you back to the headquarters of the Shadows and threaten to tell the League." He explained, "If he told me, well they probably would have bugged out by the time I got back home." He explained.

Jade thought it over, while it made sense, it would be a huge risk. The thought of leaving the Shadows had crossed her mind, most people in her position had, but this seemed like a light in the shadows. A chance….and that's all she ever needed. "Say I agree, how do I know I can trust you?" she asked, raising a brow at the tracker, "Or you can trust me for that matter?" she asked.

James shrugged, "Well I can tell when you lie. So I can trust you…..you can trust me…..I haven't told anyone you and Artemis are related." He said truthfully. The assassin looked at him with a critical eye, it could easily be a bluff, but then again what would he gain from lying to her about it.

He stayed silent for a few moments thinking over this partnership, the word brought a smirk to her lips. "Alright then…..one condition." She said, pushing herself off the wall and turned to look at him.

James gulped a little, "Depends…..what is it?" he asked cautiously.

She snorted, "Nothing illegal if that's what your thinking. One week from now, meet me in Gotham. Building that's next to Wayne Tower has a nice restaurant on the roof. I'll book us a table…..wear something nice." She added before walking past James and down the alley out onto the street, leaving a stunned young man behind.

 _Did…..did she just ask me out on a date?_

 **AN: Yes I am still alive and this big bastard took so long because I had a bad case of writer's block for how James's interaction with Ra's would work. I also recently got my first laptop and will no longer have to work on these stories on my phone only.**

 **Also LOGAN, or as I like to call it, THE BEST WOLVERINE MOVIE OF ALL TIME, came out and me and my brother gushed over every scene of it. If you haven't seen it and have not had it spoiled for you yet; first off congratulations, and also gp see it the next chance you get.**

 **Now as for James's new addition, I see it as the next logical step in evolution. For example, a lesser known wolverine villain is Romulus, like Logan he has metal claws as well. Unlike Logan he has a fourth claw on top of his thumb that he can flex, giving him a advantage in fighting Logan.**

 **Now it has been said that Laura only has foot claws because she is female, but considering Daken has that one claw on his wrist for no explanation whatsoever, I think this makes sense. Now I have gotten many questions about this story, like will James get his own costume eventually, while I have a few ideas I have nothing definitive yet, so if you have suggestions I will gladly hear them.**

 **And there's also Jade, now while she was a antagonist for most of season one, we saw that she has no real allegiance to the shadows. Only to her family and her own causes.**

 **I've also been asked if James will go to Japan. Well he inda drove through Japan in this chapter, mainly because he was on his mission and couldn't stay to soak in the sights. Hweve, I have plans in place, that is all I will say for the time being.**


	8. Chapter 8: Terrors

**Terrors**

 **Toronto, Canada. September 14** **th** **, 2010 11:35 a.m.**

It was the day James was supposed to meet Cheshire. He wasn't nervous per say, but he was going into a situation mostly blind. He had scouted out where Cheshire wanted to meet, it was a pretty high end restaurant with an outdoor patio on the roof. HE had gotten online and checked saw that this was a pretty high end restaurant, with a name like the Golden Pearl he shouldn't be surprised. However, he knew that if this did turn out to be a double cross from Cheshire he would be able to handle himself. But if she did want to trust him, he needed to trust her as well.

The tracker leaned back in his chair as he thought, he had decided that some time back home would be good for him while Laura recovers from her capture. He arrived back at his house five days ago and had been staying in his old room with his more than happy parents. Heather and Jerry had both seen the news of him tackling Cheshire before she could kill Lex Luthor. They were both proud of him for being heroic, thankfully the camera didn't get a clear look at him and the photographers fled as soon as she showed the Rocket Launcher. So his identity was still secret, but people did get reports of someone with Wolverine claws saving the day.

"Worrying about your date?" James snapped his head towards the voice, he saw his mother peeking out from the back door of the house to the back patio where James had situated himself at for the time being. James let out a sigh, with no one in the League to turn to he turned to his parents for advice.

"It's not a date." He said stubbornly as his step mother took a seat on the lawn chair beside his, James glanced over at his mother. Heather's red hair was just starting to grey at the sides, even though she denied all evidence to the fact, and was tied into a ponytail. She was giving him a knowing smile, he craned his head back and groaned. "It might be a date. And if it is I might get kicked off my team…great."

Heather snorted, "I think Laura told me that Batman had a thing with an assassin." She said, trying to lighten his spirits. James chuckled, "See? Your making this a lot worse than it is." She said.

James sighed, "I want this to work….having Cheshire as an ally on the inside could be invaluable. We could find out what the bad guys are planning and plan for it." He said, folding his arms over his chest and looked down sadly at the ground, "Maybe I could have stopped whoever did that to Laura…" Heather frowned, she and her husband were both saddened greatly by the news of Laura's condition.

"….so it's the same girl from the news? The one you fought?" she asked, making sure she had her facts straight.

"Yeah. Cheshire." James answered, looking out into the forest.

Heather found herself smiling, "She cute?"

"Mom." James started, the pitch of his voice rising in a warning manner. He didn't want t talk about it.

"My oldest is going on his first date can you blame me for being curious?" Heather asked, James smiled a little before chuckling. He couldn't exactly blame her, "So. Is she cute?"

James glanced over at her before adverting his eyes and biting down on his inner cheek. The image of her doing her stretches in her cell came to mind for an instant. Then was soon replaced by the look of her undercover waitress outfit, cute wasn't a correct word. The word Vixen popped into his head, but he knew that if he said that to his step mother- "Yeah. She is."

Heather's lips curled into a smile, "Guess it's only natural…Logan had a forbidden love." James felt himself choke on air, Heather and Jerry both knew Logan. They worked with him for Department H, Logan acting as an agent for a time along with Jerry. James never prodded out of politeness, or he thought it was politeness but now with how his mother spoke so carefree he wasn't so sure.

"Really?" he asked. Heather nodded, "Could….could you tell me?" he asked timidly.

Heather smiled fondly at her adopted son, "A long time ago, Logan went to Japan. He went over there to investigate Lexcorp, something about weapon testing I think, and while he was over there investigating the company, he met this woman." She started, reaching out she took James's right hand. "Her name was Mariko Yashida…..her father was head of this company in Japan. He was also the leader of the Yakuza. And the main buyer for Lexcorp made weapons." She went on.

James thought back to his brief trip to Japan, he could have seen that company logo and never know it. "Anyway. Logan met Mariko and he fell in love with her." She let out a short laugh, "He tried to be polite to her, all civilized….but Mariko didn't mind it. She loved your father for who she was." She explained happily.

James felt his throat go dry as a question came to mind, "Mom….Mariko….is she…."

Heather's smile vanished, she now looked somber. "Yes…..she was your mother." James always suspected that hos borth mother was no longer alive, but knowing now…it saddened him. Heather saw the saddened expression on her adopted son's face. "James…I know you and Laura have a special bond….but always remember, Jerry and I love you. Your brother too." James smiled at her words.

Sam was glad to have his brother back, but James still felt like there was a sort of ole between them still. The Hudsons were his family, always have been, always will be. To him at least, "Wait so I'm Japanese?!" James asked, suddenly realizing his mixed heritage.

"Canadian Japanese. You look a lot like your father…but you have your mother's eyes….in fact, wait here for a minute." She said, standing up abruptly to run and get something. A few moments later she emerged from the house with a folded paper in her hands, handing it to James he saw the front was covered in Japanese calligraphy. Opening the paper the tracker's eyes widened. Inside was a photo of Logan in a traditional Japanese Kimono with a large smile on his face, around his arm was a slightly shorter Japanese woman with short black hair and eyes that matched James's.

Jason smiled as big as Logan's in the picture. "That was a invitation to their wedding…..Logan never smiled that much before." Heather said in a happy tone. James suddenly wrapped his arms around her in a hug, Heather smiled as she returned it. Pulling away, James felt himself begin to relax. "So, do you have protection?"

James's foot claws came out between his toes out of shock, "JESUS MOM!" he yelled loudly as his step mother howled in laughter.

 **Gotham City, September 14** **th** **8:30 p.m.**

James arrived in Gotham using a Zeta Tube that connected to a phone booth in an alleyway. The young adult had dressed in 'something nice' like Cheshire had recommended, a black dress shirt, charcoal colored dress pants and jacket with black dress shoes. Laura had purchased these clothes for him since there were some occasions when he needed to wear something less casual, and comfortable for that matter. Walking out from the alleyway, he walked down the sidewalk towards the Golden Pearl.

He had walked to the restaurant the day after meeting Cheshire, it was owned in part by the criminal family known as the Falcones, however this proved as a deterrent in a sense. No one would rob the restaurant unless they wanted to mess with the mob family. Nonetheless James would be on guard until he left the city, Laura had told him that there were only a few cities that were worse than Gotham, the only reason it was different was because of Batman.

Arriving at the building, he entered and look the elevator up to the rooftop. As soon as the doors slid open, James's senses were almost drowned by the smell of cologne, perfume, cigars, and a few traces of illegal substances. The young man walked out of the elevator and to the attendant behand a stand, "I'm have a reservation. Under the name, Jade Crock."

The attendant looked at his list and frowned, "I have a Jane Crock Nyugen. Is that who you mean?" he asked. _Of course she wouldn't use her real name._ James thought as he nodded, the attendant stepped out from behind his countertop, "Fallow me this way." He instructed before leading the young man through the restaurant. There were many tables spread throughout the floor, with a few circular booths against glass windows looking out to the city. The tracker was led out to the terrace where more tables were set out with a large glass canopy stretching over to the railing to prevent the night being ruined by a little rain. James was seated at a table in the center of the patio with only another chair

James kept his eyes and ears open, he overhead people talking about several things. One man was here with woman, promising to leave his wife next week and they could run off to Central City together. Another was a business man trying to convince a client to invest in his business, and seemed to be winning them over. "Well you clean up nice." James looked over to the familiar voice, he had to stop his eyes from getting too wide. Jade wore a black strapless dress that went all the way down her legs with a slit in the side of her left leg so her legs weren't restricted. Her hair was tied up into a ponytail like when he last saw her.

She smirked when she saw his eyes wander her form, "Don't get too excited. You can look all you want but no touching….yet." she teased as she took her seat across from him. As the waiter came by to take their orders, James waited until he left before speaking.

"Ok so why are we here?" he asked.

Jade put on a thoughtful expression, "That's the big question, isn't it? Why are we here?" she asked, James rolled her eyes at how she answered, but couldn't help the smile tug at his lips. "We're here to set the ground rules…you showed up alone and as far as I can tell you've kept your word so far…..might be something to this little partnership." She explained.

James nodded in understanding, he knew that this was a risk for both of them. At least until Cheshire could find a way to safely leave the League of Shadows, "So what are the rules? I imagine 'don't tell anyone' is rule number one." He said.

Cheshire's lip shook her head, "Fewer people who know the better. But be careful who you tell…my dad wasn't lying when he said that there was a mole." She said, James wanted to curse, "Before you ask I don't know who it is. Me and my dad aren't that close." She said, her tone carrying a pang of bitterness to it.

James tilted his head over to the side briefly, "Kind of figured, considering that you weren't mad about me nearly getting him killed." He pointed out to her. "But I'll be careful who I choose to tell…..if the team is compromised then I might need to think outside that circle." He muttered mostly to himself. "Ok so what other rules?"

Jade waited until their waiter approached their table and put their food down for them, a piece of steak for James and a salad for Jade. She took a few bites before talking, "Rule one, don't ask me to do something above my paygrade. If I tell you that Bane is in Gotham, don't ask me to find out where from. I know how ask around normally, I start asking questions that I have no business knowing, I get found out." She explained before taking a sip of her water. Setting the glass down, she looked over the table, "Your turn, what's your rule?"

James thought for a moment, "I don't suppose I could ask you to cut down on killing people? The League would be more lenient if your body count isn't so high." He suggested, the League was very harsh when it came to taking a life, however more than a few members of the League have been forced to take lives at some point. Wonder Woman herself fought in WWII and took the lives of enemy soldiers, Captain Atom did as well. Even Robin could be considered a killer for what happened with Ra's Al Gul the last time the dynamic duo met them, even though it was a complete accident,

But still, Jade was as of now an assassin. That needed to change, and she too knew it, "I'll try but sometimes my missions are called in locally and I HAVE to partake in them. So, no promises." She said in a wary tone. "Now rule three, don't bring a third wheel to out dates. We meet somewhere new each time. That reminds me." She said as she put her hand on the table and slid what was in it across the table where James caught the device. It was a phone, "Burner cell. I got one too. We call each other to meet up, if you can't answer then I take it you can't make it." She explained.

James nodded as she slipped the phone into his pocket. "Good thinking…you wouldn't happen to have anything would you?" he asked curiously. He honestly didn't expect anything, but this was meeting to discuss spying, he needed to get a idea of what she knew.

Jade smirked, "Do I look like an amateur?" she asked before her playful attitude became more serious, "You heard of Belle Reeve? Maximum security prison?" she asked. James nodded, "Word is that someone is planning on breaking every convict out at once. Don't know how but it goes down in a few days." She explained.

James was about to open his mouth but a gunshot rang through the air, followed by people screaming, the two looked towards the entrance to the building to see several men with guns sweep through the restaurant. James ducked under the table along with Cheshire. "Shit who are these guys?" James asked as he shrugged off his jacket whiel Jade took off her heels.

"Probably some stupid gang bullshit. I swear to god this city is full of idiots." Jade growled out in anger as she grabbed part of the tablecloth and ripped enough of it to make a bandana for her. James did the same then rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. It would be far to coincidental for both a Shadow and a Team member to be dining at the same place. She smirked, want to make this interesting?' she asked.

"This isn't interesting enough for you?" James asked as he kicked his shoes off as well, he couldn't use his claws so he needed to be as comfortable as he could get.

"Let's see who takes down the most goons. Whoever wins sets the terms." She suggested, James found himself smiling, Laura and he would do the same thing when she was training him. Little bets as incentive to do better, harmless fun.

"Deal. But no kills." James constituted, Jade seemed somewhat disappointed, "Hey consider it practice." He suggested as he tied the makeshift bandana round his face, He heard footsteps approaching, he looked at Jade in the eyes he could tell she was smiling. And so was he.

Grabbing the stalk of the table be lifted it up and rammed it into the gunman, his weapon firing off into the glass ceiling above before shattering. The other men looked over to see James stand with Jade as she wrapped some of the extra tablecloth around her hands and picked up two shards of broken glass from the ceiling. "That's one for you lover." She said before dashing forward along with James as the men opened fire. Cheshire kicked over a table for cover while James ran forward, the bullets tearing into him as he ran to one of the men and grabbed their gun, bashing him in the face with his own weapon with one hand and punching him with the other.

While the gunmen focused on him, Cheshire drove her knee into the side of one of their heads, she landed beside another whom she cut the back of his leg with one of the shards of glass she picked up. James meanwhile grabbed the man he punched and threw him into a third man, sending them both through a glass window. James heard the cocking of a shotgun and dove away as the buckshot tore through the air where he once was. A silver pan collided with the side of the shotgun wielder's head. James looked over to see Jade spinkick another. She looked over and winked at him.

 _Four to Three her._ James thought, looking into the restaurant he saw that there were three left, one behind the bar and two running in single file toward the door to the terrace. James and Jade both sprinted towards the door. James slammed a right cross into the first one, carrying his momentum he spun and rammed his elbow into the second one, making him stumble back. James suddenly felt weight on his shoulders and watched as Jade flipped over him and drop kicked the second man, landing in a crouch.

James saw the last gunman aim at Jade, she reacted by throwing one of the glass shards at his weapon, the glass shattered and cut into him, making him yell as his weapon fired randomly, one of the shots grazed Jade's shoulder but before he could do any more damage, he wars grabbed by the scruff of his coat and slammed down onto the bar with enough force to splinter the wood. He was still alive, but hs nose was broken in more than a few places.

James looked over to see Jade nursing her wound, rushing over to her side he inspected the gunshot, "Relax wild boy. Just a scratch." She said as she stood up before she noticed the elevator was coming up. "Are there sirens down below?" she asked.

James shook his head no, that meant it was Falcone's gangsters. And if they were seen they would be fired upon immediately. James looked to the opposite of the wall with the elevators leading out to the corner of the building, "This way." James said as he ran towards the window, grabbing a char he used it to break the glass, 'Grab on and hang on tight." He told her, Jade wrapped her arms around his neck and held on as James ran towards the hole in the glass and jumped, popping his claws out as he leapt and imbedded them into the wall the weight of the two of them making them slide down the side of the building.

James looked down, the building was twelve stories tall and they all but jumped off the roof. However beneath them and across the alley was a apartment complex. At the speed they were currently going down at however they would miss their chance to jump. Thankfully with the addition of his foot claws, James managed to slow their decent so they could push off from the building onto the roof of the apartment complex. James and Jade both rolled onto the rooftop. James coming to a stop on his chest while Jade stopped on her back beside him.

James groaned as he rolled onto his back, yanking the bandana off he turned his head over to see Jade do the same. The assassin was breathing heavily, her heart was still pounding from the fight, the freefall on the side of the building was exhilarating as well. She turned her head over to James, he wasn't as out of breath but he was clearly still recovering from what transpired as much as she was.

She chuckled, for no apparent reason she just chuckled. "Was it good for you too?" she asked, making James laugh as well. The two rested on the rooftop, James because he wanted time for the bullets in him to be forced out naturally and Cheshire to calm herself down a little.

"So….this mean the date's over huh?" James asked, making Jade look over with a raise eye.

"Oh, this was a date?" she asked.

"You were calling me lover." James pointed out.

The assassin shrugged, "Fair enough. But that's only because I don't know your name." she explained. James thought back to their prior fights, the words handsome, love, and other descriptive words had been what she called him by. But never his name.

"It's James." He answered.

Jade smirked as she sat upright and leaned onto her side so she was facing him, "Good." The next second her lips were pressing against his. It was meant to be a small peck, then to draw away and just smirk at him. But pulling herself away, their eyes met once again. "I…..don't….."

James's hands took her cheeks in and pulled her down for another kiss, this one had force to it. His lips pulled at her's, challenging her dominance over the situation. She replied by lifting her leg over him over to his other and leaning her body into his, her chest pressed up against his as her leg slid up the side of his. His body rolled over so that she was now pinned against the ground under him. They broke away briefly "…kiss strangers."

James's mind was going wild as their lips met again, he was going by pure instinct. However they broke apart when they both heard sirens, the police have arrived and were going to be searching the area, James looked back towards the building, the flashing of red and blue lights shining up the side of the building. He looked down at Jade, they were both panting lightly from their exchange but they both knew they needed to leave. Standing up, they quickly leaned in and captured each other's lips again, Jade catching his lower lip with her teeth and gently pulling at it.

"We need to go." He said against her lips before they both pulled away and sprinted off in different directions. She leapt off the rooftop onto a fire escape while he ran for the roof exit to the apartment complex he was on. Reaching the bottom floor, he strode out the side exit into alleyway towards the Zeta Tube location. James was grinning as he walked, _Well….that was a….interesting evening…ok Laura is so going to kill me when she wakes up and finds out but I have to be honest, this was so worth it._ He thought to himself as he put his hands in his pockets.

 **Mount Justice, September 14** **th** **, 9:30 p.m.**

"You have an inside source with the Shadows?" Batman asked, staring James down after he finished telling him and Aqualad about the information that Cheshire gave him regarding the possible Belle Reeve prison break. James knew right away that if he was going to tell anyone about his new 'partner' that it should be Batman. "Who is it?" he asked immediately.

James swallowed, a audible gulp being heard by the other two, "Cheshire." He answered truthfully.

Kaldur's eyes widened at that bit of information, "James, are you sure that it is wise to trust someone who has tried to kill you? Multiple times?" he asked critically, ran a hand down his face, he knew that they would be skeptic. However Batman didn't show ant signs of disappointment. Yet.

"Can she be trusted?" he asked plainly.

James nodded as he walked over to the center of the room and pulled up a holographic keyboard, "She wasn't lying, I would have been able to tell. But since she couldn't give me specifics. I looked at whose been going to Belle Reeve." He explained as he pulled up photo of the prison. "At first nothing recent caught my eye, but then I noticed something. Back in July, the League took down Killer Frost, Icicle Jr, Captain Cold, and Mr. Fries." He explained as he pulled up a photo of each of the villains.

Batman walked over and watched the screen as James went on, "Killer Frost and Cold were both sent to Belle Reeve right away, no surprise there. But Icicle Jr recently petitioned to be tried as a adult and was sent there as well. And last during his trial Fries was declared legally sane, keeping him out of Arkham, and is being transferred to Belle Reeve this week." He explained as he looked at both Batman and Aqualad, "And the fact that these four all attacked on the Fourth of July all at once, made me think that this was their plan all along. Get thrown in together to bust out, but digging a little deeper, I found this." He said as he pulled up another image of an older man, "Icicle senior is being held in the supermax as well. Bringing the total to five ice powered villains in one place." He finished.

Batman looked at the information gathered, then looked at James, "Good work." He praised before drawing his attention back to the board, "I had a theory of some attempt but the inside source confirms it. Something is going on behind Belle Reeve's walls. We'll assemble the team tomorrow and plan accordingly." He said before walking towards the zeta tube along with Jason. "Also, I want you here tomorrow with Martian Manhunter, he might be able to find a way to bring Laura out of her coma." He added.

James nodded as the caped crusader exited the cave in a flash of light. James turned to see Aqualad with his arms folded over his chest, the tracker sighed, "I know I should have told you but I didn't want to get you guys into trouble if this didn't work out." He explained.

The Atlantean sighed, "To be honest, I am glad things worked out. But this does affect the team, so you should have told me." He said, making James loo down, Kaldur put a hand on his shoulder, 'But I am your friend first, and I would stand with you as you have by me with whatever decision you made." He said, making James smile.

"Thanks Kaldur...but there was one thing I didn't exactly mention to Batman." He said as his cheeks warmed up slightly. He explained exactly what happened during their meet up, though he did used the watered-down version of his intimate exchange between him and Cheshire. "-and then the police showed up and we had to run...so I'm pretty much screwed." He finished as he took a seat and looked down at his feet in the small side room with a waterfall in the corner.

Aqualad gave the young man a look of sympathy, "I do know your dilemma my friend." He started. Making James look at him with interest. "Before I became Aqualad, I had two friends. Garth and Tula. When me and Garth came to our king's aid, he offered us both the chance to be Aqualad. I took it, Garth didn't. Leaving him and with Tula." He explained in a saddened tone.

James frowned, he could tell where the story was head, 'Kaldur…..man, I'm sorry…I shouldn't be bringing this up." He said, feeling somewhat guilty.

The Atlantean shook his head, "There is no need. But my story was not meant to dishearten. But to inspire, I am contempt with my role in life, but I know that if Tula were by my side, I would be happier." He explained, James pressed his lips into a thin line as he contemplated Kaldur's words. Jade and he had trust, along with something else that he wasn't sure either of them completely understood. But further down the line who knew? Maybe they could have something.

 **Mount Justice, September 15** **th,** **2010.**

James was present for Batman explaining the mission to Superboy, Aqualad, and Ms. Martian. Red Tornado would be on overwatch along with Aqualad and Batman, Superman was also present, watching from the side. James walked in front of the screen and pulled up a image of two twins, both of them blonde with one being a boy and the other a girl. Their sideburns were shaved in a pattern and both wore the same outfit of a white tank top and cargo pants and combat boots with suspenders. "Tommy and Tuppance Terror. Also known better by the Terror Twins, now Conner you probably recognize them since you tangled with them before." He said, the clone nodding with a scowl.

"Yea, me and Kid ran into them before I moved into the cave. Here's got super strength and flight. Hits pretty hard." He said in a sore tone from being bested by the twins.

"The Terrors are on a multistate crime spree, if they stay on their current course then they should wind up in Mississippi tomorrow." Batman added before turning to Superman, "Superman and Martian Manhunter will lead the twins to a secluded area where we can subdue them and switch have Ms. Martian and Superboy take their place and have them transferred into Belle Reeve." He explained, James noticing Superboy take a glance at the ktyponian.

James nodded, "Conner you'll get made to look like Tommy and M'gann you can take her shape on the spot, right?" he asked. The Martian nodded, "Ok. If there are no questions then Conner, I'll help you dye your hair, in the meantime work on a southern accent. The twins both have a accent so you'll both have to speak as they woi;d in order to " He said, closing the holo screens and walking with Conner to get ready along with M'gann and J'onn.

III

O

After dying Conner's hair and cutting it accordingly, James and the clone both not knowing what they were doing until M'gann came by to check up on them and help. When that was finished, the young man exited the cave for about fifteen minutes. When he walked back in through the side entrance, he held a small rabbit in his arms, white in color and surprisingly calm for being captured by James. Walking down the hall, he ran his palm down the creature's back in a soothing manner, "It's ok little guy." James said soothingly as he turned the corner and was met with Martian Manhunter waiting inside the medical bay, entering the room he walked up to the alien.

He looked over and looked at the young adult curiously, "Why do you have a rabbit?" he asked as James walked over and looked in the room. Laura was still out cold even though her Healing Factor should have flushed the trigger sent out of her system, J'onn theorized that the amount of the dose sent her mind into shock, so a telepathic link between James and her could wake her up.

"For when she wakes up. She likes small animals." James said with a small smile before handing the forest creature to J'onn. The Martian looked at the rabbit before taking it in his arms. "I must warn you James, Laura suffers deep trauma, your mind in her's might be misconstrued as a threat to her's." he warned. James nodded, the others had told him of when their memories were erased and they had to meld their minds together in order to restore their memories. So he had a idea of what he was going to face.

James took a seat on the bed beside the one Laura was laying down in and closed his eyes, he felt a presence in his consciousness and let it pull him into Laura's mind.

 _When James opened his eyes, he wasno longer in the med bay, but instead he was standing in a long hallway, the walls colored white and the lights above almst making it blinding. With nowhere else to go he proceeded down the hallway, his footsteps echoing in the void. James felt his spine tingle at just how unnerving this was, Laura had told him she was born in a lab but this seemed more like a prison._

 _After countless minutes of walking, he saw that dead ahead of him was the end of the hallway with a door. It was metal and had only a small slide in the center to look trhough. Peeking inside through the slot, he saw Laura….as a child, sitting down on the ground with her legs crossed facing away. However Laura wasn't older than him, instead she was a child, no more than twelve years old. Opening the door to the cell, for the word room was putting it generously, he smelled blood._

 _Apraching Lauraslowly, he saw why. Laura had her claws out of her right hand and claw marks on her left wrist. "Jesus Laura…" he mttered, the little girl turned to look at him. Her expression went from shock to rage in seconf. "Aw shit." James muttered before the younger girl sliced through his jugular, splattering his blood across the white room. As he stumbled back into the now dorrless wall._

 _James fought the urge to pop his claws, he needed to calm Laura down and talk to her, not fight her. "Laura, listen to me-" he began before she jumped up onto him and sank her blades into his shoulders and her foot claws into his sides. James bit down a yell, "I know you Laura…..you are not a weapon….THIS isn't you!" he said, turning his head to gesture at the room as Laura pulled one of her fists out and radied to strike again._

" _I know you love old cheesy Hong Kong action movies, I know you like camping out and looking up at the stars. You love horses!" he spouted out between each stab, the wall behind him was covered in his blood, but h was not going to stop. "Laura….you're my sister….and I love you like family….don't be what they made you." He said, making the young girl freeze. He felt the little girl begin to tremble. Tears leaked out of her eyes, she retracted her claws and fell onto the ground feet first, her head bowed so that he wouldn't see her cry. James kneeled down on his knees and put his hands on her shoulders, making her look him in the eyes._

 _When he blinked, she was back to her proper age, but still crying, "I-I'm…" James pulled her into a hug, which she gratefully returned. James smiled as he ran his hands through her hair._

" _I know Laura." He said as he closed his eyes._

When he opened his eyes, he was back in the Medical Bay of the cave, and Laura was sitting upright, wiping the tears out of her eyes. She looked over and smiled, James looked at J'onn and tilted his head to the young woman. "James said that you like small animals." he said, holding the small rabbit out to the young woman. She looked over to James, who was grinning ear to ear, with a smirk.

"Thanks, J'onn." She said gratefully as she held the small animal and petted it. J'onn smiled before taking his leave, letting the two siblings have time to talk. "I'm still sorry." She admitted, "I went after you to kill….I never-" James gently kicked her shin, quieting her.

"We both know that we're hard to kill….and on the plus side we now know I got foot claws." James said, looking on the positive side as he lifted his right foot up and popped the twin blades from his foot to show her. Retracting the blades, he folded is hands together, "Laura…..what happened?" he asked, "The men who took you weren't shadows, they're someone else, someone new."

Laura frowned, "Kimura." She said simply, the name made James's blood boil, the woman who abused and tortured Laura ever since she was born. The program that she had been born into was responsible for her, she had unbreakable skin that even their claws couldn't penetrate. When Laura opened up to what she had done, James made a silent promise, that if he ever saw this woman he would try and kill her.

He can understand why some people commit crimes, but Kimura tormented a innocent child and made her into a weapon. He didn't care if he got kicked off the team for it, the world would be better off without her. "But…there was someone else….." she muttered before shaking her head, her thoughts of who drove a sword through her head, "Look James, I need to look into things, but until I make sure of what I saw, be careful. Ok?" she asked.

James sighed, "I keep hearing that and the more I do the more I want to do something stupid." He said sarcastically, Laura glared at him, "Ok, I'll be careful."

"Good…..now come on, I hate hospital rooms. Get me out of here." She said as she stood up, looking down on the fluffy animal she was holding she handed it back to James. "So, what did I miss while I was out?" she asked as they walked towards the exit to the med bay.

James sighed, "Well Ra's agreed not to come after me. We have a ball of alien tech now here at the cave, and I have a source with the league of shadows." He responded truthfully, Laura did a double take. "Oh, yeah and we have a mole apparently." He added, Laura put a hand on his shoulder and slowed down.

"Ok what the hell?" she asked.

James went into greater detail about the events that transpired, including how he met up with Jade and what transpired. Laura slapped the back of his head, "Jesus are you in HEAT?! What the hell were you thinking?!" she hissed out as she looked around to make sure no one heard them. She was blushing from the thought of James and this Jade person kissing, it may have been out of logic or protective instinct but this sounded like a bad idea,

"Ow! Look relax, we can trust her." James said reassuringly.

Laura gave him a critical look, "Are you sure that's not your dick talking?" she asked.

James dryly laughed, "Funny. No I was talking about the intel that she gave me that there's a planned break out at Belle Reeve." He replied cockily, Laura opened her mouth to speak, "Batman agrees with me." He added, the clone shut her mouth and let out a growl as she stalked down the corridor with James right behind her.

"I just…. keep this professional. I swear to god if you two screw-"James elbowed her, his face red as a cheery. "Seriously though, protection-"

"Continue that sentence and I swear to god I will cut my ears off." James cut her off as they entered the living room and kitchen area of the cave where Artemis behind the couch, and Wally and Robin were sitting down on the cushions watching television. On the screen was a hockey game. "Hockey? I'm in." James said as he walked around in front of the couch and sat down on the floor. "Whose playing?" he asked.

Wally grabbed a handful of popcorn and shoveled it into his mouth, getting a sound of disgust from Artemis, "It's a celebrity hockey game. They play for charity."

"Boo." James complained before Laura walked around the couch and sat down beside James.

The game entertaining mainly out of humor, the five laughed about what was taking place rather than getting invested at all. It was an odd sense of normalcy for all of them, James looked around and saw his friends all enjoying their time together. He smiled, _Feels good to be back home, wonder how Conner and M'gann are doing?_ He wondered to himself before he felt his phone go off in his pocket. Pulling it out, he saw that he had gotten a text from his mother.

' _How was the date?'_

James took a glance over at Artemis, he did feel somewhat guilty for not telling her about her sister, but it wasn't his secret to share. She would have to tell the team about the team when she was ready. And besides Cheshire was turning a new leaf...hopefully. at least that's what James hoped, not to mention that there was a mole amongst them and Artemis was one of the suspects.

'It was nice.' He typed back before slipping the phone back into his pocket before reaching over and steaking one of Wally's candy bars from the table.

"Hey!" Wally protested.

"Hey, I was just stabbed by her. I deserve candy." He said before taking a bite out of the sweet.

III

O

Laura left the group before the game hand finished, after she had left the remaining four started betting on who would win the game. "Stupid bird brain, can't believe I lost ten bucks to the boy wonder." James muttered as he walked down the hall towards his room. It had been an eventful few days, meeting with Jade the subsequent foiled robbery, getting into Laura's mind and bringing her out of a coma, but studying over the mission for Superboy and Miss. Martian and planning it out had been taxing in it's own way.

James approached the door to his room, the metal door slid open. Stepping inside the room he closed the door behind him, kicking his shoes off and setting them near the door he started towards his bed but stopped when he saw a suitcase on the foot of hos mattress with a closed envelop on top. Walking over to the bed he picked up the envelope in one hand an driase dhis other hand, popping one of his claws and cutting the top open.

It smelled like Laura, the letter within had her handwriting as well.

 _Hey James,_

 _Sorry I didn't stick around but you know as well as I do that it's better to keep Batman informed then not to. By that I mean you will get bat-glared at until you feel ashamed. But I wanted to tell you just how damn proud off you I am, you tracked me across the world to bring me back to being…me. Now I know that I've always been a little protective, and for good reason but….I know your training was harsh. But it's a harsh world. It can be dark, it can be horrible, and it can just plain suck…..but our job is to make sure that there's hope, that there's justice, and nailing arm dealers in the Yukon is fun and all, but it doesn't make much of a difference overall._

 _But we can't stay out of the spotlight forever, and I know you didn't want one but…..if your going to be on TV? I figure you might as wel dress the part._

James looked at the case before looking back to the letter.

 _James, you are Logan's son. But you never thought that title was burden…..I always saw you treat it like a goal, You wanted to earn that name…..well I think you have. Even if you don't think so yourself._

 _Put it on when your ready._

 _Love Laura._

 _P.S. If I so much as smell sex on you I will castrate you. Just a reminder._

James winced at the last line before crumbling up the paper and tossing it in the wastebasket. Looking at the suitcase, he had a pretty good idea of what was inside. Opening the lid, he saw that he was right. Inside the case was a costume, reaching in he pulled out what he honestly thought was not the worst costume he had ever seen.

The costume was yellow and black in color, the mask was identical to the one his father once wore, white eyes of the mask were surrounded by black material that stretched out from around the eyes to the side of the head, rising to tips that made ears, the 'ears' wrapped around the head though instead of how they originally spread out from the front of the mask. The neck down to the upper torso of the suit was black that had three short yellow line on the sides of the neck and a stripe of yellow going around the shoulders and over the collarbone and upper back.

The black went around and under the arms of the torso with three more small stripes on the sides of the ribcage, the chest and back was solid yellow, the arms were yellow also up to the forearms which were black with yellow padding on the inner of the wrists and block of thin padding on the top of the forearms. The gloves were fingerless and solid yellow with the palms having a grip pattern. There were ports on the top of the knuckles where his claws came out of as well.

The pants had a black belt around them, the buckle was yellow outlie of a X for weapon X, which in a sense was a crest for the Logan family. The legs were solid yellow down to the shins which were covered by black boots with a yellow outline that showed where the boots began and the costume ended. The boots also had slight openings for his foot claws but were not as pronounced as the ports on his knuckles.

The material wasn't spandex, it was more thick than that but only slightly.

"Well…..they're not tights at least." He, muttered with a smirk.

 **AN: Well there you go ladies and gents!**

 **Now your probably wondering WTF is up with James. Now, Cheshire has been shown to act on a whim before, that was what this was. However it kind of backfired.**

 **Now…..the costume.**

 **Originally, I had intended to hold off on giving him a suit for a while. But the way I see it, why wait? This isn't Smallville, it's not going to take nine or ten seasons for James to finally get a suit. As for the design itself, I'm happy to say that this is an original suit I made using a template from the show. And is available to see on my DeviantArt page.**

 **The costume's design was inspired b Jimmy Hudson's costume from the Ultimate X-Men comic books. In fact, Jimmy is now in the Marvel Universe after secret wars! X-Men Blue came out last week and a story at the end mirrored a fight between the Son of Wolverine and one of the mutant's most oldest foes.**

 **Now…X-men gold was published two weeks ago, and as I am sure most of you have heard, this issue was…..controversial.**

 **In the issue, the artist planted some sub textual anti-Christian and Anti-Semitic propaganda throughout the first issue. Ironic considering that X-men deal with fear and bigotry in basically every issue ever. Now I just want to say this, the artist who drew these messages in was immediately fired from marvel and will probably never draw for comics again.**

 **Well what do you know, you put bigotry in a book about overcoming bigotry and you get fired for it? What do you expect jackass?**

 **Well on the bright side I turned twenty one recently. So there's some good news for you :)**

 **Now yes, Mariko is James's mother. Those of you will know her from her character in The Wolverine film, she was the love of Logan's life (don't care what you say about Jean Grey, Logan litteraly cuts off a part of himself every year for her as sacrifice, don't see him doing that for Jean).**

 **Plus the four issue Miller/Clarmont Wolverine run was amazing so there's that.**

 **Well, until next time guys.**


	9. Chapter 9: Wild

**Wild**

 **Quebec, Canada. December 15** **th** **1974, 1:35 p.m.**

Jerry Hudson walked down the path leading through the woods, it was chilly today and the almost blinding whiteness of the snow-covered surroundings made it hard to see the path more than ten feet ahead. Today had been a snow day and he had decided to cut through the woods to get to town faster than walking down the road. Jerry was starting to regret this decision.

The teenager bowed his head, burying his chin into his scarf to try and keep himself warm. His parents told him a hundred times not to take the shortcut, people got lost in the woods, the forest was so thick that t forced the road to go around it so while it was faster to go directly through it, it one was to get turned around someone could get lost within the woods. Jerry simply kept moving forward, the best way from one point to another was straight through after all. He watched his feet move, one in front of the other, one step at a time through the snow. The streak of red on the white ground made him stop.

It was blood.

His eyes fallowed the trail of blood streaking through the snow, a small splatter on the base of a tree caught his eye. Further up the bark was more blood that wrapped around the trunk, which made Jerry take a step back out of shock since the trunk was three feet thick. His eyes shot back down to the ground, where was more blood but also prints that was about the side was the blood mark on the trunk. Fallowing them back, he saw IT.

IT was big. IT was hulking. IT had razor sharp teeth and claws. IT had blood dripping out from its mouth and onto the ground in front of it. Whatever IT was, Jerry didn't like it. He turned on his heel, pulling a 180, and sprinted back the way he came.

 **Mount Justice, Rhode Island. September 19** **th** **2010 9:24 a.m.**

James rubbed the sand out of his eyes as he shuffled his feet over the floor. Wearing a white shirt and a black pajama bottoms with slippers on his feet he made his way through the cave. The mission to Belle Reeve was an overall success, the prison break was foiled and most of the prisoners were subdued without any casualties. However, the Riddler was somehow able to escape in the ensuing chaos. Batman said not to worry though, Edward Nigma was not a big a threat as some of the others in the supermax prison.

Making his way into the kitchen, he walked over to the fridge and got out the gallon of milk before walking to the counter where a few boxes of cereal was set out. Grabbing a bowl from the cupboard and a spoon from the drawer, he made himself some cereal and began to eat. It was Sunday, James may be an early riser usually but when he was able to sleep in, he slept in. The sound of footsteps made him look to see Superboy and Ms. Martian fly into the room beside him.

"Hello James, glad to see your finally up." M'gann greeted kindly as she landed on the ground and used her telekinesis to grab a apple for her and a glass from the cupboard that she filled with water for Conner. As she did, James smelt something off about the pair. It was almost if their scents had been in close proximity to one another, James looked between the two of them and noticed the small wink Conner sent at M'gann. The young man's eyes widened before smirking to himself.

"About time you two." He said, causing Conner to spit out on her drink and M'gann to choke slightly on her apple before her throat adjusted and swallowed the apple. M'gann's cheeks blushed red with embarrassment while Conner coughed and looked away. "Relax you two, I won't tell anyone. Just don't make out in my room or anything weird like that and I won't spill." He said, putting the new couple at ease.

"Thank you, James. We'll probably tell the others…..eventually. It's just-" the Martian began.

"None of their business." Conner finished, M'gann nodding in agreement.

James simply shrugged, "Look, I'm happy for you two. Besides I think Conner could use a gentler side to help him be more well-rounded." He said, making Conner throw a spoon at his head. James simply batted it away, and M'gann caught it with her mind before it hit the ground. "But tell Wally last. Please. Watching him hit on M'gann and failing is one of the joys of my life. Don't take that away."

Conner chuckled, "Oh I'm not going to tell him any time soon." He said, raising his fist for James to bump with his own.

M'gann frowned, "Isn't that mean?" she asked, not wanting to lead Wally on.

James put his hands together, "M'gann….Wally hits on all girls. Think of this as…. teaching him a lesson." He said, trying to explain why this wasn't a terrible thing to do. "Besides, it is really funny." He added.

"It really is." Conner agreed.

Before James could add further, the com-link in his ear went off, "One sec guys." He said before pressing the com, "Hello?" he asked, the com acted as a long-distance radio for League members as well as a phone. He still had a phone for his non-superhero life, but his com was for emergencies.

' _James? Thank god I reached you.'_ It was his mom, Heather Hudson.

"Mom?" he asked, he gave his mother, father, and brother the number to his Com for emergencies. "One second mom." He said as he got up and left the kitchen for a more private place to talk with his mother. Walking down the hall, he entered the library of the cave, the room housed over thousands of books for research pertaining to missions as well as a place to simply relax and read. "Ok mom, what's going on?" he asked.

' _James you haven't heard from your father by chance have you?'_ she asked worriedly.

James raised an eye as he took a seat on one of the tables, "I haven't heard from dad. Why?" he asked curiously, he and his family usually kept in contact pretty well for living so far apart from one another. He called both his parents after each mission and Sam when he could as well.

' _I haven't seen him in three days.'_ The news hit James like a boulder to the gut, if he wasn't sitting down he would have to. _'I called his branch, he left on a field operation three days ago out near Quebec and none of them have been heard from since arriving.'_ His mother explained.

James took a deep breath before exhaling slowly, "Ok…ok, I can check some databases that the League has access to, see if they're any chatter. If there's anything out of the ordinary, I'll look into it." He said as he stood up from the table, "I love you mom…. I'll call back when I got something." He said, his mother saying she loved him too before he hung up. As he exited the library, he thought of what could have happen, starting with the worst case, his dad was dead.

 _Stop. Don't even think that._ He thought as the door slid open, a few minutes later he was in his room changing into a pair of jeans, a heavy green coat, and brown boots. He also grabbed a backpack from his closet, he planned to grab some food and other materials for his trip up north. It was cold this time of year, but that wouldn't bother him.

As he walked past his bed, his foot bumped against something, looking down he saw the corner of the briefcase sticking out. He hadn't tried on the costume from Laura yet, mainly because he thought he might look ridiculous on one hand, but then again looking at some of the outfits heroes wore? He wouldn't look too out of place. He looked between the case and the door, "Aw screw it." He muttered as he reached down and slid the case out from under the bed.

Slipping the suit into his bag, James walked out of his room and made his way to the briefing room. Walking to the supercomputer, he brought up a keypad, "Computer, is there any com traffic from Department H out of Quebec?" he asked. Department H was one of the government agencies that shares all data with the Justice League, others like the CIA, FBI, and Secret Service were also a part of it. This way the League could coordinate with governments more efficiently.

The computer pulled up a map of Canada, highlighting the Quebec province. James knew that his father was originally from a small town in the area but there wasn't anything major there. No known supervillains, or criminal organizations. The region the computer highlighted became smaller, the operations area where his father was assigned to. It was in the northern part of Quebec and it was mostly remote. "What were you doing here dad?" he asked himself aloud when the computer showed no com traffic.

"You're not sending us on another mission, are you?" James spun around to see Conner, M'gann, and Aqualad enter the room.

He shook his head, "Nah, this is personal. I was just looking into something." he explained as he shut the computer down. The others looked unconvinced, James bit his lip before speaking. "My uhh…my dad, he works for Department H. He went with this team to Northern Quebec; my mom hasn't heard a word from him and they lost contact with the team he was with." He explained.

Aqualad and M'gann gave him sympathetic looks while Conner looked at him surprised, Kaldur opened his mouth to speak but James cut him off, "Look, this is my problem. I'll deal with it." He explained as he started towards the hanger to get his bike and Zeta Tube as close to the site as possible. As he walked past the other young heroes, Conner reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.

"We got your back….don't forget that." He said, James looked at him and nodded before letting him go and walking away.

 **Northern Quebec, Canada. September 19** **th** **6:45 p.m.**

The Zeta tube took him as close as Labrador City, he had to drive his bike the rest of the way to the north. The city faded away as James entered the wilderness, as he drove down the road James thought back to the last time he had explored the wilds of the Canadian tundra. It was Laura's final test for him, survive by himself for one week out in the wild with no human contact whatsoever. He remembered finding a peaceful pond with a cave nearby he used as a home, he also remembered the dangers he faced. Wolf packs, bears, and other predatory animals.

There was also the band of poachers he came across while hunting, they saw James and shot him without a second thought. When he got back up ad stalked towards them, the looks on their faces made James laugh for a solid ten minutes afterwards. But the whole experience taught him something, while things can be calm and peaceful one moment, thy can easily become chaotic the next.

 _Chaos seems to be fallowing me around lately now that I think of it._ James thought as he turned the handles of the bike to the left slightly, passing a truck on the road . _The mystery player taking Laura, me and Jade's run in with mob guys in Gotham out of nowhere, hell every mission the team goes on. Well it's not just me at least._ He considered with a shrug as he drove on.

Looking down under the speedometer, he focused on the GPS on the bike. He was near the last known location of the team. Turning off the highway and onto a side road, he drove twenty kilometers until a sign came into view, what made him stop was that the upper right side of the sign looked like it had huge bloody claw marks in it.

 _(Flashback, years ago.)_

 _James walked through the Hudson house late at night, he had gone to the kitchen to get a glass of water to drink before bed. As he made his way down the hall leading to his bedroom, he noticed something. Further down the hall was the room to his parent's bedroom, his brother's room, and his parent's study, the last of which had its lights on. Walking down the hall slowly, he approached the door and peeked inside the room. The Study had an entire wall in front of the door stored with books, looking to the left he saw his dad sitting at the desk with the computer om and the moonlight from the window behind him shining in._

 _Jerry looked up from the screen to look at his son, he managed a tired smile, "Hey James. What are you doing up?" he asked._

 _The boy held up his glass of water, "Getting some water. You?" he asked as he walked in, Jerry closed a few windows on his computer._

" _Late night work." He said._

 _James nodded, "Need help?" he offered kindly, hoping that he could help his father in some small way._

 _Jerry chuckled, "No it's uh…..well….I once saw something kiddo. Something that…..I still don't know what I see." He explained sadly, thinking back to what he saw. "It was this big….beast. It had huge claws, teeth, and was white as the snow." He explained, James looked at him with eyes wide and with a little fear in them._

" _Do….do you have an idea of what it was?" he asked._

 _Jerry gave the by a sorry look upon seeing how scared he was about the creature he described, "I'm sorry kiddo…..I don't…..honestly I'm not sure of what I saw. Could have just been a bear covered in snow." He said, making the boy laugh as the man walked around the desk and picked James up in his arms, "Oomph, you're getting heavy buddy. Come on, let's get you to bed, you need to get up tomorrow morning." He said._

 _James looked over his father's shoulder on the desk, there was a small notepad with a single word circled,_

 _(Flashback end)_

"Wendigo…" James muttered to himself in shock.

The name of the town was named Kuujjuaq. James revved the engine of his bike and drove at full speed towards the town. James asked his father years later about that night, Jerry was surprised he remembered that night. But he explained even so, how he saw a monster when he was younger and how when the police found human blood on the scene they searched for days but found no remains. He had heard one of the Inuit cops saying that it might be a Wendigo.

The Wendigo was an old tale passed down through the Inuit culture, a beast that craves human flesh and stalks the wilds of Canada. One is turned into this creature by consuming the flesh of a human being deep within the wilderness.

James's bike lifted into the air briefly after riding up a hill and coming back down onto the pavement. He didn't know what to think of this, that was blood on the sign on the way in but he only thought of the creature because it was the first thing that popped into his head. "But still, people thought Aliens weren't real and I live with little green girl." He said to himself as he drove around the bend of the rad, the trees disappearing and the town coming into view.

The town was an Inuit community, one of the oldest in fact, the town was settled near the shoreline of a wide river, in the winter the water would freeze near the shores, to would be thick enough to walk on without worry. The town itself was made up of single story homes, the houses weren't made of brock or wood but of thinner materials, they reminded James of storage buildings some parks used. _Not town, community._ James corrected as he continued down the road.

Within half an hour he was nearing the border of the town. Slowing his speed as he approached, James felt a sense of unease wash over him as he drove forward into the settlement. He drove a few blocks into the town before coming to a full stop on his bike, turning off the engine he took his helmet off and set it down between the handlebars of the bike before stepping off his bike and listening.

There was nothing.

Not a footstep to be heard, not a single engine of any, no crackling fires within the homes, nothing. _It's quitter than the middle of nowhere._ He thought as he walked down the street, while there was no sounds, scents littered the town, he remembered the bloodied sign listing over two thousand people living here. But there wasn't a sign of a single soul.

As he moved deeper into the town, a more prudent smell came into focus, blood. Fallowing the scent towards the center of town James felt his stomach churn at how potent it was becoming, walking into a small square with sides of houses making up three of the walls, James stopped dead in his tracks at what he had come across.

The small square was caked in blood, the walls of the homes were painted crimson, the ground a darker red. The human body had at most one and a half gallons of blood. This was almost a swimming hole that overflowed onto the street, "Jesus Christ." He uttered as he backed away from the gruesome scene. The sound of a creek from the house to his left made his head snap over in that direction. Walking over, his claws slid out from his forearms and out his knuckles.

He approached the front steps of the house, twisting the doorknob he opened the door. Entering the house, he retracted his claws, the house was small, the kitchen, living room, and dining room was all mixed into one with three doors, the creek came from the middle one. Approaching the door, he opened the door and immediately felt something stab his shoulder, hissing out, he turned his head from his shoulder he saw Inuit girl with a pair of scissors stabbing his arm, "Gah! Stop stabbing me!" he yelled out, the girl immediately stopped and looked at him with fear. She stabbed him again, "Christ will you stop!?" he yelled again, grabbing the sharp objects and tossing them aside.

The girl had short black hair, tan skin, and brown eyes. Her clothing was a coat that looked too big for her with white fur around the collar and inside to keep her warm. She only came up to James's chest so she couldn't be more than thirteen years old.

The girl was still scared, fear was keeping her immobile. James could sense it coming off her in waves, James stood in front with his hands raised of the girl. "Do you speak English?" he asked, she didn't respond. The young man sighed, "Should have brought M'gann. Um…. what where the words for mom and dad?" he asked aloud, "um…Nana, Ata?" he asked, thinking back to what little Inuit he knew from school. The girl stared at him with saddened eyes, she fought back the brimming tears in her eyes, James felt his heart clench. "I'm sorry." He said.

Peering into the room, he saw that the window was coated with blood from the outside, he looked back to the girl and swallowed hard. He raised a hand to try and comfort her, but he couldn't begin to find the words. The girl walked past him, 'Hey, hey! Where are you going?!" he asked as he fallowed the girl out the door and out onto the street. James fallowed the girl, they walked away from the bloody square and towards the river, James kept his ears out for any more signs of life but there was none.

The girl's head was on a swivel, looking for anyone still alive, occasionally calling out a name to try and see if they could hear her. But all that was heard was the echo of her voice carried though the deserted town. The tracker could smell traces of the town's occupants as well as some that were foreign to the area, they must have been the tea from Department H.

James thought to the bloodbath, most of the blood was dark and dried so that meant that many of the beast's kills were old. The Wendigo must have been here for a while, using the town as a preserve to get food whenever it wanted. James tapped the com to his ear, "James to cave, come in." he said, however all he could hear in his left ear was static, "What the hell? Razor to Team, come in." he commended, nothing but static. The girl stopped and looked at him curiously, "Stupid radio, override code four-three-five-seven. Restart radio." He said.

The girl ran up and hit him in the gut, "Uwug! Will you stop hurting me kid I'm trying to-" he started before an ear piercing howl echoed through the town. James had heard an abundance of animal calls, but that one sounded like none he had ever heard before. It was a bloodcurdling scream mixed with inhuman roar, it made his hair stand on edge, "Run." He said, when he didn't hear her move, he looked at the girl, "RUN!" he shouted, pointing down the street. Turning in the direction of the roar, he could hear it approaching as the teen girl took off in a sprint.

The creature stalked around the side of a building, it was nine feet tall, covered in white fur with two horns protruding from its head that went back into its Maine. It was muscular, over one thousand and eighty pounds of force, it's legs bent back like a deer and a long white tail. It's hands were mass with razor sharp, bloodied claws, and a pair of deep red eyes staring at him with rage and hunger.

James's fists clenched as his claws unsheathed. The Wendigo noticed the claws and growled before sprinting towards James with tunnel vision, James ran forward as well towards the beast. The monster was fast for something as big as it was, the creature reached James and slashed its claws upwards across his chest, the force sending James flying into the side of one of the house, caving in the wall and sliding down it to the ground, four deep cuts sliced across his chest. James winced in pain, he felt the beast's footsteps as it approached him.

James recoiled his feet inwards towards himself and sprung off the ground, slashing his claws out in a X shape over the torso of the Wendigo. Landing in front of the beast, James swung his arms out wildly into its abdomen, splattering the ground with its blood. James plunged both his claws into the monster's midsection, hoping that the wounds would make the beast fall.

But the cuts he inflicted sewed themselves together before his eyes, looking up at the creature, it growled, "Oh Fuck Me."

The next second his face was slashed, losing his right ear in the process as he fell onto his side. James rolled over just as the Wendigo brought it's fists down on the ground where he was, the tracker swung his arm out, slicing the monster's right fingers off. The beast howled in pain as James got back up onto his feet as the wound on his chest faded away and the claw marks on his face sealed.

He ducked under the Wendigo's arm as it tried to swipe at him, James Jumped at the beast once again but the Wendigo reeled it's arm aback and swing its entire body around and slamming James into the building once again. He felt all his insides shift from the momentum and abrupt stop. His arms were pinned at his side from the Wendigo's forearm, the beast roared into James's face, it's breath smelling of blood and flesh.

It shot it's head forward into James's shoulder and bit down to his bokes, James screamed at the top of his lungs as his flesh was pulled away from him. He struggled against the Wendigo, his claws scraping against the beast's flesh as it chewed on what was James's shoulder. _FUCKING HELL IT HURS! THINK HUDSON! DON'T LET THIS THING FUCKING EAT YOU!_ His mind screamed as his feet kicked into the wendigo.

 _YOUR FOOT CLAWS DUMBASS!_ James felt his claws slide out of his feet, swinging them back, he kicked them forwards into the Wendigo's throat, Coughing blood to pour out onto it's white fur and drop him, grabbing the wound on its thick neck. James felt his own blood leak out of his mouth as he tried to get back on his feet. Standing up, James raised his claws up ready to attack, "Alright you big fucking yeti….bring it on." He growled out before charging into the beast, tackling it to the ground and stabbing its pectorals with his blades, the beast slammed its hands on either side of the young adult's head, James swore he heard a bell ring inside his head before the monster grabbed his leg with his claws and flung him into the air.

As James fell back to earth, he clipped the edge of a house before falling onto the snow-covered ground, rolling onto his feet he took in his surroundings, he was on the shoreline now, the building he clipped was one on the boarder of the shore. The Wendigo climbed onto the rooftop and leapt off after James. The tracker waited until it was about to crush him before rolling onto his back with his feet out and using his momentum to throw the creature back while he rolled and turned to it.

He rushed the beast, it reeled it's arm inward and swung it out at him as he approached. James jumped over it and swung his leg out with his claws sprouting out of the foot, slicing its cheek before landing in a crouch and swinging his right arm out and carved out it's shoulder and jammed his left claw into its opposite bicep and ripping down, making the arm useless for the time being. He ducked as it swung its useful arm, slashing its side, _Upper hand! Now how do I take it down?_ James thought.

Before he could act, something yanked at his leg and threw him off balance, "Argh! Fucking tail!" he yelped out as the appendage flung him across the ground and onto his front. The creature chased after him as he started to push himself up off the ground the monster jumped onto his back, making James yell out in pain. He looked back and saw the Wendigo abut to chomp down on him once again, he slashed his arm back as far as he could, cutting out the beast's eyes and making it howl in pain before punching James's head into the ground and running off.

James pulled his head from the ground, his face scratched up from being imbedded into the ground. "Yeah…. better run asshole." He groaned out as he retracted his claws. His clothes were covered in blood, both his and the Wendigo's. The tracker said there for a few minutes, trying to will himself to get up but his wounds from that last attack were still healing.

The sound of footsteps made him tilt his head to the direction they were coming from, there were five pairs of feet with a smaller pair leading the way. "Oh my god, quick, get his arms and legs!" a familiar voice said, James recognized the voice as his Jerry. He felt a weight lift off his shoulders at the sound of his step father's voice, the others grabbed his arms and legs and gently lifted him up and begun carrying him away as James shut his eyes to rest.

When James opened his eyes again, it was initially dark, giving his eyes a few moments to adjust to the lighting he saw he wasn't alone. Standing in a corner was his step father who looked like he hadn't slept in days, "Dad?" he groaned out as he sat up, his wounds had thankfully healed by now from his battle with the creature.

Jerry looked over at him and smiled, walking over he wrapped his stepson in a hug which James returned, "I'm so glad you're ok." He said gratefully as he pulled away, looking down he saw that his shirt and jacket had been removed, "They took your shirt and jacket, wanted to inspect your wounds but…" Jerry explained.

The tracker looked at his surroundings, the room they were in had walls concrete with a matching floor and ceiling, the only scource of light was a small lamp in the corner. He was placed on a cot against the wall, standing up from his resting place, James saw his backpack near the doorway to the room and grabbed it. Jerry explained he had been out for an entire day as he handed him his now clean coat to put on over his chest, "So what the hell happened? Mom didn't hear back from you and got worried, what the hell is that thing? I mean is…is it-"

"A Wendigo…..yes. At least that's what the locals think." He explained as he led James out of the room and out into a stone hallway, the ceiling lined with fluorescent lights hanging overhead. "My team arrived three days ago after this town's communications was off entirely. When we got here we got ambushed by that thing." Jerry explained as they passed room after room with people crammed inside, a few people peeking outside to look at the new arrival.

James thought back to the bloody square, "How many people?" he asked bluntly.

"Over half the town's population, and that was before we got here. But we managed to drive the thing off using the guns we brought. One of the townspeople found us shortly afterward and brought us to this mine." Jerry explained, "But we're low an ammunition." He added.

James shook his head at the situation, "What about radio communication? I wasn't able to reach the League; do you guys have anything that can get a SOS out?" he asked as they approached a room where a few of the citizens were gathered. As they walked into the doorway, he saw that the teen girl he had rescued from the settlement. She was speaking to two other kids her age and an older man when they looked at James, she turned and smiled before running up him and hugging him, "Woah there!" he said before patting her shoulder.

Jerry smiled, "Yuka here ran over and told us someone was fighting the Wendigo." he explained as Yuka pulled away and smiled at James before looking at his hand and turning it over as though she was inspecting it. "She likes you." Jerry said, nudging James in a joking way.

The young man rolled his eyes, _Oh yeah, sorry little girl me and this assassin lady might have a thing._ James thought sarcastically before the girl pulled at his arm towards the teens and old man she was speaking to. The older man smiled gratefully at him, "Yuka told me that it was you who saved her from the beast. I can't thank you enough for my granddaughter's safety." He said gratefully.

James nodded respectfully, "I'm just glad she's safe." He said before Yuka pulled his hand once again. "Ok what? I don't know what you want." He asked the girl.

"Kapvik, Kapvik!" she said, pointing at his hand. James looked at her strangely before she made a gesture with her hand, three of her fingers curled, and James understood. She must have seen him use his claws to fight the Wendigo, "Kapvik!" She said, pointing her finger into his hand. James looked back at his father, the man simply shrugged.

James raised the hand she wasn't holding onto and let his claws pop out, making the teens stare in aww at the claws, they kept chanting the word 'Kapvik'. "Damn it now they won't stop." He muttered aloud. After a few more minutes of showing the kids his claws, he pulled himself away to regroup with his father, fallowing him through the mine, the two opened a door leading to the entrance of the one and further into the mine itself.

"James, these are the other agents who made it." He introduced to the other five men, each of them wearing winter hear and holding a firearm. "Gentlemen, this is my son." He introduced. James shook each of their hands. Daniel, Peter, Robert, Carl, and Lee. Robert was the leader of the team, Peter the communications expert, Peter, Carl, and Lee were all field agents and Jerry was the Handler.

"Nice to meet you all. Do we have a plan in place to evac?" the tracker asked.

Robert shook his head, "None, we're so far out of range of any cell towers that no cell phone could get a signal. Our guy with the Sat Phone was taken so now we have no means of calling for help. He explained, "And even then we'd need enough transport to get these people out of here, that could take hours and that thing is fast." He explained.

James smirked before reaching into his left ear and digging out his earpiece, "Can you get a signal out with this by chance?" James asked as he handed it to peter who looked over the device, "I tried getting a call out earlier but I could only hear static." He explained.

Peter's closed one eye and held the communicator close to get a better look at it, "Well as far as we can tell, whenever that thing is close it scrambles Radio Waves, it's like a beacon for it really." He explained before handing it back to the hero. James put it back in its ear, "We found that out the hard way." Peter added sadly.

James looked out the mine entrance, outside was the river so they had to be close to town for them to have carried him here. "Hmm…ok evac will take some time right?" he asked, his step-father nodded. James pointed out of the mouth of the mine, "I could get a small aircraft to take people across the river to safety and get a bigger operation for evac underway." He began. "Now the Wendigo will go after whatever Radio is broadcasting, I'll get as far away as I can and distract it while the civilians and you guys are taken to safety." He explained.

Jerry nodded in understanding, "Ok but what about the Wendigo? If that thing gets away this could happen to anther town, or god forbid a city." He pointed out.

James ran a hand down his face, what exactly were they going to do with this thing? Belle Reeve was meant for human beings, Arkham might be able to hold it but that place had more breakouts than a teenager going through puberty. "I don't know…."

"Kill it." James turned his head to Daniel, "That thing killed god knows how many? Plus our own? The thing should be a corpse!" he said adamantly. James could smell the anger coming off the man, he wanted revenge, _And he's probably not the only one. All the people in this mine must have lost someone to that thing. And we don't have anywhere to lock it up. But…._ James thought conflictedly.

IF the Wendigo was anything like it's myth, then the creature was made from magic. A Wendigo is made when man is forced to consume the flesh of another human in the Canadian wilderness, his soul is tainted, corrupted, and he is turned into a Wendigo for committing this taboo of nature. But with a healing factor could he even put it down?

James was conflicted, despite its appearance it was deep down a human being…. but it was also a rabid animal. It was killing innocent people. Jerry saw the conflicted look on his son's face, "Look, let's focus on getting out of here first, then we'll worry about the Wendigo. James, what do you suggest?"

James brought himself out of his thoughts, "I'll bait the thing as far away as I can and radio my team to pick you guys up, they'll find you." He explained, the other men nodding in agreement. As the agents went to inform the civilians of the plan, Jerry stayed with his stepson as he unslung his backpack from his shoulder. James looked over at his father, "What should I do?" he asked.

Jerry sighed, "I wish I could tell you…..but Daniel does have appoint, this thing gets away? How many more people will die? But maybe we could capture it, study it, see what exactly caused it." He added, seeing both sides of the argument. James opened the flap of his bag, the costume's mask staring back at him made him frown, there was one question that he hadn't asked.

What would his father do?

Wolverine, he wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty from time to time. But that didn't mean that he didn't value life, but as Laura once told him, _"Logan….he was willing to do what needed to be done. Because no one else would."_

 _What needs to be done….._

James reached into his bag and pulled out the suit. A few minutes later, James exited the entrance of the mine, the yellow and black suit covering him up to his neck where the mask was hanging off the back off his neck. James reached back behind his head and pulled the mask forward over his head, "Alright big guy. Come find me." He muttered before running towards the town.

After finding his bike, James revved the engine to life and went off road to the south of town, as soon as he reached the outer limits of the community, he pressed his finger to the comm in his ear. "James to cave, come in." he said aloud.

" _This is Kid Flash, man where have you been?! We lost contact with you, we were about to go looking for you."_ The speedster explained from his end. The tracker heard a slight buzzing over the comm as he drove into a thicket of trees.

"Look KF I don't have much time so listen up, there's a mine full of civilians just north of the town I was investigating. I need you evac them across the river and get a rescue organized. Get Aqualad, Superboy, and Miss. Martian to help with evac. Got it?" he asked. Wally started to respond but it was drowned out but static, the ear-piercing roar of the Wendigo made him pull on the breaks of his bike and turn to the left while he leaned over to the side, stopping the bike in the snow.

Getting off the bike, he stood and faced the direction the Wendigo was approaching from, they were a few miles away from the town and the Bio-Ship should make it quickly, it flew from New England to the Caribbean and back in one night, it can get here in less that. Hopefully.

The trees shivered as another roar sounded through the air, James saw the monster approach from the way he came, knocking a tree down as it closed I on him. James sneered. _**SINKT!**_ "Alright you big bastard," he growled out before running forward between the trees, "If you want to tangle with someone, why not try your luck against the new WOLVERINE!" he shouted out as he leapt toward the Wendigo and slashed his claws into the Wendigo's arm as it reeled it's arm back to strike.

It uppercutted James with its other hand sending him through a thin tree and onto the ground where James rolled onto his feet. The monster ran forward, hopping over tree James was sent through, it closed in on James and lifted its foot back to kick him but James quickly tackled the one supporting its weight, bringing the goliath down.

As it got back up, it looked around to see that the tracker had apparently vanished.

It didn't look up to where James had climbed up a tree, _Ok think, it's big and fast. But I can use that to my advantage. If I get in close enough I can do some damage. But if I am going to put it down, I need to be smart about where I hit._ He thought before climbing onto a branch and slowly walk along it until he was above the Wendigo. He dropped from the branch and slashed his claws down clean through the Wendigo's tail, the beast howled in pain as it wildly threw it's elbow back to try and hit him.

He bent down to dodge the limb, he slashed his left claw across its stomach, the goliath's clawed hand he avoided came back and clawed him across the cheek just within the mouth of his mask. He retaliated by swinging his body to the right, swiping his foot blades into the beast's leg and used his momentum to backslash it across the face. James felt his side get cut, the Wendigo's right claws grazed his size and swung back to strike the back of its hand into his face, knocking him onto his back.

The Wendigo stomped onto the young man's legs, pinning him to the ground and cursing the muscles in his legs as James screamed in pain, it raised both hands over its head froe bringing them down towards James. Thinking fast he jabbed his claws into the Wendigo's wrists, stopping the beast's attack. The goliath growled before baring its teeth, James knew what came next, but this time he was prepared.

Tilting his heard forward, the Wendigo bit down on his skull, a sound that resembled cracking bones filled James's ears, reeling his head back he saw the Wendigo's teeth had broken on his metal skull, it covered its mouth with its hands. James's eyes went to its neck, "I'm sorry." James said before crossing his arms forward, the claws on either side of the Wendigo's neck.

SLLLISSHHH!

James expected more blood…. well that would be the case if his claws had sliced all the way through its neck. Unfortunately, the skin of the beast was thick, and what would have cut the head off a normal human wasn't as effective. "Oh, fuck not enough momentum." He said, realizing he didn't have room to swing his arm fast or hard enough to finish the job. The Wendigo drew its arms away from its mouth and let out a gargling like growl. Its fists punched James into the ground, determined to beat him to death.

 _Well I feel less sorry now._

Jerry explained the situation to the team the minute they landed, getting an entire town across the river was a time-consuming task, kid Flash was running two or three across the water as fast he could while Miss. Martian used the Bio Ship to pick up and drop off as many civilians she could. Superboy and Aqualad worked in tandem, Superboy breaking chunks of ice to use as boats to cross the river while Aqualad used his powers to propell the ice across the water.

They were about three fourths of the way finished with the evacuation, Kid Flash ran across the water onto the shore. Slowing to a stop, he bent over to catch his breath, " _Hoodoo man, are we done yet?"_ he asked within his mind to the others.

Aqualad and Superboy were on a piece of ice that the Atlantean was steering across the water, _"There are still civilians near the mine. If we keep our pace then we should complete the evacuation within the hour."_ Kaldur said into the others mind. _"Miss. Martian, what is the status on the recovery?"_

The alien was piloting her ship, filled to the brim with as many civilians she could fit inside it. _"The Red Cross is sending a few ships that can fit down the river, they'll be here in a few hours."_ She said.

" _SON OF A BITCH THAT HURT!"_ a new connection shouted, making the others wince.

" _James is that you? Where are you?"_ Miss. Martian asked through the telepathic link. She tried to focus her mind on where he was but it was as though he was mind was conflicted, she couldn't focus on where he was unless his mind was clear and focused.

" _M'gann? KF, Aqualad, Superboy, how's the evac going?"_ He asked the four.

" _We're still working on it, where the hell are you?"_ Wally asked as he stood upright, having caught his breath from his speedrun across the river.

James response sounded like a growl, _"I'm in town, ngh! The Wendigo is here, look just keep getting as many people out of here as you can! I'll take care of this asshole!"_ he explained within the team's mindscape.

Wally frowned, he couldn't just leave James to handle this on his own, _"I'm close to James."_

" _Wally I got this! Just get the civilians to safety!"_ James yelled over the mental link.

' _What's that? I'm sorry James I can't hear you, your breaking up."_ Wally lied before running off towards the town.

He could tell James was thinking over what he said, _"Breaking u-Hey dumbass we're not using a radio!"_ James yelled out, making the speedster grin as he rounded a corner of a house, just ahead of him something big crashed into the road. Kid Flash slid to a stop in the snow, nearly tripping on the slick ground by doing so. Wally's eyes widened when the Wendigo stood tall in front of him, it's fur coaxed with blood in some parts while a claw mark across its chest healed. It turned to the speedster and growled, "Um…. oops." he squeaked out as the Wendigo took a swipe at him.

Kid Flash rolled back before speeding forward and ramming his shoulder into its chest, the force sending it across the ground. The monster stopped itself by digging its hand into the dirt, before it could attack, a slab of brick came flying at the side of its head from the left, dazing it. "HEY HAIRBALL! WE'RE NOT DONE YET!" James shouted as he leapt off a rooftop and dug his left claw into the Wendigo's shoulder and drove its side into the ground from the force of his weight coming down on it.

James was not in the best shape; his once new costume was now battle worn. The right sleeve of his arm down to the black forearm was gone, the left eye of his mask was torn to his mouth, four gashes across his chest, and a few superficial cuts on the legs exposed his skin to the frigid air. "Kid run!" he shouted, shaking Wally out of daze as the wendigo uppercutted the tracker.

His claws were dislodged as he stumbled back, he dove forward, slashing the midsection of the Wendigo, it kneed him in the chin. Wally could only watch as the pair teared into one another, James cutting into the creature with wild abandon while it did the same to him. "RUN YOU IDIOT!" James yelled as he sliced the fingers of its left hand off. Wally shook off his shock and sprinted full speed back towards the mine to help evacuate civilians. He understood why James wanted to get them all to safety, he could hold off this thing but if they got anywhere near the people there could be god knows how many casualties.

Meanwhile, James plunged his left claws into the Wendigo's right pectoral and pulled outward, slicing open the chest cavity and making it howl in pain before slashing off James's sides. He gasped for air as he stumbled back, clutching his sides as the Wendigo kneeled and nursed its own wound. The two stood apart from one another by about ten feet, James locked eyes with the Wendigo. They both breathed long, heavy breaths, in theory his healing factor could keep him fighting for days on end, but the Wendigo was as though as he was, he had internal bleeding, torn ligaments, a punctured lung from its claws and a concussion that was taking it's time to fade away.

He looked down at his wound, it was stitching itself together slowly, looking at his opponent's cut he saw it was also taking time to recover. While it may not have an unbreakable bone structure, it was still tough to put down. _I got to kill you…. damn it I have to because if I don't, then you WILL kill others._

He grits his teeth, "Come on…. let's finish this." He muttered as he raised his blood-soaked claws, the middle one of his left hand had an orb hanging off the tip. HE watched in silence as it fell. When he heard the soft drip hit the snow, they both charged once again. The two carved one another, James only managing to nick its neck on occasion while it managed to slice his mouth open.

James jumped over a swiped at his legs from its jail but was punched in the chest sending him into the side of a wooden electrical pole, the force causing the pole to fall onto him, pinning him in place. James tried to wiggle out from under the pole but it had to weigh over a few tons, the Wendigo stalked over to him, a primal growl coming from it as it approached him. Just before it reached him however, it halted in its tracks and looked down the road, towards the river.

"No! No no no!" James chanted as it began to stalk off down the street towards the river, "NO! Come on you big fucker! Come on! Let's finish this!" he called out before it started running towards the water.

James felt his blood begin to boil, that thing was going to kill everyone! All the men, women children, his friends! He tried pushing the pole off him but his muscles screamed before giving out. _No…no…no…no…._

James's fists trembled with rage, he looked up as the Wendigo made it to the boarder of the town. "No…. No…No. No." his voice became more anger laced, his brown eye that was exposed became a shade of dark red as his brow furrowed in rage. "No….NO!" he declared as he planted his hands against the ground and pushed, the pain in his arms seemed diminished, almost nonexistent as he pushed the wooden cylinder off his back and onto the ground with a loud thud.

His eyes locked on the Wendigo, he felt rage overtake him. "RRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"

He bolted from the ground, sprinting down the road at full speed, he had tunnel vision on the beast, it had turned at the sound of his roar. James swung his arms forward as he pounced at the wendigo with his claws out and a rage filled roar. The tracker was in a wild frenzy, slashing his claws wildly across the breast's chest. James was clawed across the face, but kept carving out the wendigo's torso. The beast reeled it's arm back and threw it forward, James headbutted the fist, breaking its fingers while he continually jabbed his claws directly into its chest.

The Ribcage was exposed, James saw its head and drew both his arms bac before plunging them down into the heart, screaming into the Wendigo's stunned face. He twisted his blades, tearing the organ apart before slicing his blades outward of the chest, splattering blood through the air, "RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" he roared out before settling to heaving breathes.

James 's eyes tuned back to their hazel color, his ragged breaths calmed, and his senses came back to him He slowly stood up, looking down at the foe, he saw the wounds would no longer heal. The creature wouldn't stand back up, it was…. dead…. he killed it.

James suddenly felt the pain, the torn muscles of his arms and back from lifting the pole off him, the cuts, bruises, the blood leaking out of his mouth from his internal injuries. He felt exhausted, he felt like passing out, but what he felt the most was guilt. He had taken a life….and though it may have been for the greater good, he still felt his heart weigh heavy. The sound of something large touching down made him look over to see the Bio Ship land, Miss Martian, Superboy, Aqualad, and Kid Flash running out to see him.

They stopped when they saw the body, M'gann covered her mouth in shock, Conner and Wally had stunned looks on their faces while Kaldur had one of sadness. "James…. are you- "

"No…I'm not." He cut Kaldur off before falling over, his team mates rushed to his side, as he laid on the snow, James locked eyes with the Wendigo's empty ones. "I'm sorry…" he murmured below a whisper before falling asleep.

 **Mount Justice, Rhode Island. September 21** **st,** **2010, 3:20 p.m.**

Batman came by the cave the next day, by that time, the civilians from the town had been relocated to another settlement temporarily while the town was repaired. Jerry Hudson had checked in with Heather and was due back home that night, and the Wendigo Corpse had been taken into League custody. James meanwhile had awoken in the med bay of the cave, after getting dressed in some clothes left out for him, Red Tornado came to get him.

Arriving in the mission briefing room, he saw that Batman, Superman, Aqualad, and Laura awaited him, James explained everything to them. His mother calling him about his father being missing, the state of the town, and the Wendigo. "-after I called the cave and told them to find the civilians while I…. dealt with the Wendigo."

"Killed. You killed the Wendigo." Batman pointed out, James clenched his fist but said nothing. "Situations like this can be difficult…. the answer isn't always clear to see."

"No. It was." James said, staring batman in his eyes, "That thing. It was a human at one point. Don't know how he became what he was but it happened. But as soon as he became that thing? It killed countless people." He pointed out before looking down, "I know that the League frowns on killing…. but I do not regret what I did." He said adamantly, making Superman raise an eye at him, "If there was a way to cure him? I'd take it in second over killing it…. but right then and there? It was either let it live and let it kill countless others. Or kill it, and save lives…and I don't like what I did for one second…. but I did what I thought needed to be done….and if had to it again." He said.

Batman and Superman shared a look, the man of steel spoke up. "Like Batman said, you faced a difficult decision. And you are right, it was let it live and possibly let more die, or take its life to stop it. That is never an easy choice to make…but the like you said, the League does not look kindly on taking a life, no matter the circumstance." He added.

James solemnly nodded, "I understand." He said. He would miss his friends but-

"For the foreseeable future, you will not partake solo missions like this one." Batman stated, making James look up in surprise. "Let me be clear, private opinions aside, the reality of the world is that taking of lives is sometimes a necessary evil, but not one we freely condone. But this team is meant to guide young heroes, however how you conduct yourself outside this team is dependent on what type of hero you want to be. It will not interfere with the team. Understood?" he asked firmly.

James nodded in understanding before being dismissed. Laura watched sadly as James sulked to his room, no matter what the punishment they gave him, what James was going through would be worse on all accounts.

Moments later, James shut the door to his room, looking on the closet door was his repaired costume. He sighed before entering his bathroom he approached the sink and turned on the faucet and gathered some water in his hands before splashing his face with some and looking at himself in the mirror,

What stared back at him was a being with red eyes, covered in blood and skin torn to shreds and barbed wire.

James blinked, and it was gone, taking a shaky breath. He entered his bedroom a curled up into bed.

He was truly sorry.

 **AN: Damn this took a while. This chapter was epically fun to write because James could let himself loose, however at a great cost.**

 **Now on to YJ season 3 news! The Show is a go for 2018 people! However, it won't be on TV, instead it will be on a new streaming service by DC. It will also feature another new show called Titians. Now the new season name is Young Justice Outsiders for those wondering, and it's thanks to all the fans who watched the show so much.**


	10. Chapter 10: HomefrontAlpha Male

**Homefront / Alpha Male**

 **(Quick AN, you'll see why this is two episodes in one)**

 **Mount Justice Rhode Island, September 22** **nd** **2010.**

James had barely slept since returning from the fight with the Wendigo.

Not that it was particularly noticeable to his friends, due to his healing factor he was able to stay up for a while anyway so his lack of sleep was unnoticed by his teammates. The others meanwhile knew what happened, but hadn't brought it up to him, James felt this elephant in the room was going to come out sooner or later and he dreaded the thought of it. Right now, he simply got up from his latest attempt of sleep for a afternoon nap but ended up nearly falling out of bed from the nightmare.

Making his way out of his room, he ran his hands down his face as he walked. _Christ on a crutch I hate these nightmares! Usually I get it once or twice and get over it...then again._ The figure from his dreams, the bloodied human wrapped in barbed wire and lose skin hanging off its frame. James had seen worse in his life, but something about the figure simply put fear into him. He considered talking to Laura about it, perhaps she could give some insight, but part of him also thought that it might be best to keep this to himself for the time being and see if this just passes.

As he entered the briefing room, he saw Aqualad and Red Tornado, the latter of which exiting the cave using the eta tube. Kaldur nodded at him in greeting. "James, glad to see you my friend, I was just discussing our problem with Red Tornado." He explained, the young man nodded in understanding, the mole problem was something he had been thinking about as well.

"Look, I get why we've kept it under wraps for the time being. But we can't keep this from them, I say we tell them." He said, the Atlantean sighed. He too wanted to tell the others, his friends, about what Sportsmaster said, but if they did then the mole would be tipped off to their knowing. However, the fact that Sportsmaster told him about the mole seemed odd, it's entirely possible that he simply wanted to sew discontent amongst their ranks.

"There must be a way to tell them and be sure none of them try to deceive us." He pondered, "Wait…. James you said you can smell when people are lying correct?" he asked, James nodded as he put the pieces together. He could sniff out a traitor, if they told the team, then he could tell if any of them were the mole by their scents. "Then we should start with those present." He said, gaining a nod from the tracker.

As they walked through the cave towards the hangar where Superboy, Kid Flash, and Miss. Martian were gathered. As they walked, Aqualad took note of James's appearance, the young adult wore his now repaired costume in the cave now, "I can hear you looking." He said, smirking over at Kaldur.

The leader bowed his head slightly, "Apologies, it' just I did not picture you as one who wore uniforms. As I recall you were adamantly against it." He said with a smirk matching James's.

The young adult rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up…but I kind of get it now." He said, looking down at his suit, "It's a uniform, a costume, sure. But it's also this…it's like a badge. I wear this and I'm not some freak with claws, I'm not James Hudson, I'm Wolverine." He explained, reaching back behind his head to pull his cowl down over his eyes. "Plus it's surprisingly comfortable." He added. Kaldur nodded in understanding, the title of Aqualad was a highly-regarded title in Atlantis, one which he was proud to bare.

The pair entered the hanger where the others were gathered, Artemis and Robin both started their first day of school today so they were absent in the morning and afternoon but would still stop by in the evening. The Team had a flexible schedule for those who needed it, if James was still in school he would be in a similar position. However Laura homeschooled him for his education much to his relief, so he could spend his time at the cave or in Happy Harbor if he liked. M'gann and Conner had today off from school along with Wally, and Kaldur was formally educated in Atlantis, she had no need to go.

"Well look at whose wearing tights." Kid Flash joked as the two approached the group who were by Conner's bike. Wally looked like he was in the midst of working on it while Conner, M'gann, and Sphere watched. The Sphere was something James was not entirely sure he could trust, mainly because it was completely artificial. Not to mention it couldn't communicate with them in the normal sense. But it helped them, and it could leave anytime it wanted, so what was the harm?

"Least I don't have goggles." James pointed out in his defense. Wally opened his mouth to respond but it died down, muttering something about it being 'too easy'. He looked at Aqualad who nodded, "Look guys, we need to talk…when me, Speedy, and Aqualad were on our mission in Rhelasia, we came across Sportsmaster. He knew about the operations in Beyalia." He explained, making the team's eyes widen in shock.

"What how could he…..unless…." Kid Flash began, he looked up at Kaldur and James. "A mole." M'gann gasped as Conner's eyes widened in surprise. James sniffed the air, the smell of surprise, bewilderment, and anger was in the air. But not fear, and no fear meant only one thing, no inside source among those present here "But who could be the mole?" he asked aloud. "Wait, are we really taking Sportmaster's word? The sam guy who shot Wolvie's face off?" he asked, raising his arm at James.

The tracker glared at him, "Call me that again. See what happens." He challenged.

"That is exactly why me and James kept this to ourselves. We were not even sure this information was at all accurate." Kaldur explained, "In fact, we believe that this was made solely to make us distrust one another." He explained, the others nodding in agreement at the reasoning.

"So, what do we do?" Conner asked, "We can't just ignore this." He said.

"We're not. I just smelled the air and can tell you guys without a doubt that none of you are the mole. We just do the same with Robin and Artemis and this whole thing is behind us." He said decisively, wanting to put this entire business to rest. However, the others looked somewhat offended, "What?" he asked.

"So you actually thought one of us could b the mole?" Wally asked with bitterness of being accused, "I've known Kaldur and Rob longer than you guys have! How can you think I'd betray them!" he demanded as he pointed at James. The tracker opened his mouth to retort, but closed it. Wally did have a point.

"Look…I trust you guys with my life. That's not the issue. But if we're not completely, one hundred percent sure? This will just come back to bite us later." He explained, the others still looked distrustful of the method, "Ok let me ask you guys this, would you rather peel a band aid off slowly and painfully, or rip it off and get it over with?" he asked, Kid Flash and the others finally relaxed.

"Next time, just tell us." Superboy said simply, "We have a right to know." He said, getting nods of agreement from Wally and M'gann.

Aqualad nodded back in agreement, "We will. Secrets are why we formed this team, it should not be what divides us." He said, Wally smiling at his friend's words whiles James glanced away, for a spit second near the Zeta Tube he saw the figure again, shaking his head and blinking he looked again to see the figure had once again vanished. He felt a hand on his shoulder, he whirled around to Kaldur, who recoiled his hand back, "James are you alright?" he asked out of concern. Looking around he saw the others had concerned looks as well.

 _Secrets were what made this team, not what should divide it._ He thought, looking over at Kaldur, he sighed. "Look uh…I know we haven't talked about it but….I can tell you guys have been thinking about it. The Wendigo." He explained. His teammates gave him solemn looks, "Look I just want to say-LOOK OUT!" he shouted before a large tidal wave crashed into all of them, washing them up against the wall.

The water retracted, James leaned down and coughed up some saltwater that got into his mouth. Looking up from the ground he saw a large ball of fire careening towards them, "Scatter!" Aqualad shouted, Kid Flash ran over to James and got him out of the way of the fire ball, running up the ram to where the ship was, a spout of water came from the upper level and splashed into them. The two heroes tumbled down the ramp, Wolverine looked behind him to the pool of water to see another wave forming, "KF hang on!" he said before popping his claws and jamming them into the ground as the speedster wrapped his arms around his.

When the wave hit, the two stayed in place thanks to his claws, but the water didn't retract, the two looked at one another before swimming upwards, only to be violent pulled by the current upwards and down onto the ground. The two coughed up more water, looking over they saw the Sphere was imbedded into the wall and Superboy entrapped in some sort of twisted metal, before he could move however, something grabbed his arms and locked them behind his back. And threw him into the twisted metal beside Superboy, before he could react the metal was wrapped around his back, trapping him in place beside Superboy.

"Ennnggg! Rrraaghhh!" Superboy grunted out as he tried to bend the metal, "I can't bend it, Wolverine can you cut it?" he asked as he tried once more to bend the metal.

"Can't, my writs aren't aligned with my forearms." The tracker responded, "Foot claws aren't though." He muttered. His claws could come out of his body at over a hundred miles an hour, faster than the untrained human eye could see. "We're everyone-"he started before Wally was shoved into the metal and trapped within the substance. This got Superboy and Wolverine a look at their attackers. They both were red, one of them having a more buff figure while the other had a more feminine, "-else…." He finished as the man android dove into the water and the female android flew up into the air with a plume of fire coming from her scalp.

"So you guys saw the evil robots too right?" Wally asked, the two nodding in response. "Wait, where's Aqualad and Miss. Martian?" he asked, looking around with the others. The other two teammates were not visible, but James cold smell their scents close by. He could also smell fire. In front of them was a platform leading up into the main caverns of the HQ.

"Guys! You up there!?" he called out, there was something unnatural about the fire, it didn't burn off anything, as though it simply formed out of the air.

Kaldur was breathing heavy, "Yes….me and M'gann are here, they…have us trapped in…. fire…" he said sparsely. Conner tensed up at the mention of M'gann, Martians had a weakness to fire. He strained once again against his bindings. The tracker grit his teeth in anger, his claws popped out of his feet, slicing through the metal, however he was immobilized, unable to move his legs to cut his way out.

James glanced over at Wally, "You wouldn't happen to have had a breakthrough in phasing, would you?" he asked hopefully. Kid flash shook his head, "Don't suppose you'd be willing to give it a shot?" he asked. Wally took a deep breath before his body began vibrating, if James had to describe it he would have to say Kid Flash looked like the Tasmanian Devil from those old cartoons. However, after a few seconds wally stopped, out of breath and his nose leaking blood.

"KF you ok?" Superboy asked with concern for his comrade. The speedster gave a groan but nodded. "Ok, we can't get out…..Kaldur! Is M'gann all right?" he called up to the platform, like Martians, Atlanteans had a weakness to high temperatures and heat.

Kaldur looked down to M'gann who was in his lap, she was sweating profusely and was unconscious. "She is unconscious…but she….we, won't last very long." He answered truthfully. James cursed under his breath before the loudspeakers came on.

 _'_ _Robin, Artemis, you have ten minutes to surrender or your teammates will suffer.'_ The speakers rang out, making James smirk. Artemis and Robin were alive and free, they could get them free. Or better yet take care of the androids. He looked over to Kid Flash, he seemed to think the same thing and grinned. Superboy though looked only concerned for M'gann.

"They'll be fine." He said reassuringly, Superboy looked over at James. He nodded in reassurance, the clone took a breath before nodding as well. The water behind them splashed, turning their heads far back as they could, the three saw the male android rise with the water. It washed over their feet and slowly rose to their necks. James stiffened, he felt his weight pull himself downwards in the liquid. Looking down in the water, he felt a chill go up his spine.

In the reflection of the water was the same bloodied figure as before, except now he had a clear loot at it's face…..and he saw red eyes staring back into his own. It was him, the reflection in the water was him, only his hair was longer, untamed and sticking in all directions. It also had hair across it's face, caked with blood. The barbed wire he saw wrapped around his face, catching on his lip and pulling it up with the metal point piercing the skin.

He looked horrible, he looked frightening, he looked enraged, but what scared James the most was that it was his face, and he knew he had that look on his face before. Ripples across the water made the image dissipate. Something broke through the water, the three turned their heads to see Robin and Artemis gasping for air, KF looked for the androids and saw the fire starter throw one of her fire balls at them. "Look out!" he yelled out in warning. The pair submerged into the water, the ball of fire extinguishing on the surface of the water.

As the android hovered near where the pair submerged, the archer and acrobat surfaced beside James and Wally, "You guys ok?" Robin asked.

"Forget us! Save M'gann!" Conner said, looking up to where his girlfriend was being held against her will.

"She's out cold and Kaldur's not doing much better, find a way to get those guys offline or get us out so we can fight." Wolverine said before he saw the fire droid notice them. "Move!" he ordered, the two ducked into the water once again as another fire blast incinerated the spot they previously occupied.

The two swam towards the stairway to the platform while James, Wally, and Conner could only see the corner. Shortly after they climbed up the steps, the aquatic android ascended the steps, "Watch out!" Conner called out in warning, a second later a birdarang reflected off it's shoulder and flew straight at them, "Aw crap." The clone muttered as it flew past him and imbedded in the metal between James's and Wally' heads.

Steam poured out into the air from around the corner of the stairway leading up to the platform, but James didn't smell any burnt flesh, they were safe for now. He breathed a sigh of relief. A few moments of silence past before the projectile Robin threw lit up, for a second the three feared it was an explosive charge, but when they heard Robin's voice, they all breathed a sigh of relief. _'_ _Hey KF. Is a EMP Doable with stiff from the cave?_ _'_ the radio asked.

The speedster grinned, "Totally doable." He said confidently.

 _'_ _Five minutes_ _. ´_ the speaker counted, making the three frown.

"Well if you had more time." The speedster added before shaking his head, "Wait, no, yes! Head to the med bay, I'll talk you through from there." He instructed to the pair through the makeshift communicator. As Wally talked the pair through on how to make a EMP, he couldn't help but thank god that Wally was adept at science. After a few seconds, he caught the pair hiding up on a tunnel on the wall in front of them.

 _'_ _Ok we need a distraction; can you guys get their attention_ _?'_ Robin asked over the communicator.

James grinned, "I got this. Ahem." He cleared his throat before directing his attention at their captors, "Hey you! Yeah, I'm talking to you, you walking vibrator! You and your sex bot girlfriend get off on this?!" he called out, making the two lock onto him. "You two look like a pair of disfigured freaks, she has no boobs and you got no dick!" he called out, Robin attached a cable line to the wall and swung to the generator on the other side of the room. "I bet you two aren't even that smart, what's one plus one? Not eleven before you answer. Go on, I'll wait you dumbasses!"

Conner and Wally simply stared at him, "Damn dude." Wally said simply.

James shrugged, "It's a gift. Besides you should hear Laura." James responded, he then noticed the pair turn their attention to Robin. "ROBIN LOOK OUT!"

The boy wonder turned to dive out of the way but he was swept up by water, Artemis aimed her last remaining arrow at the male robot but a fire blast barely missing her and causing her shot to stray off and miss the android. With no other choice, she fell back the way she came. The other three could only watched as Robin was pulled out of the water, unmoving, "Is….is he-" Wally asked with worry over his best friend.

James listened closely, he could hear a heartbeat from the other side of a soundproof room. And he heard Robin's, "He's alive. But out cold." He explained. It was all on Artemis now, they only had three minutes until their captors went for a more lethal approach. Even if they somehow found a way to escape their prison, they would be washed away like robin with all the water around them. James took a deep breath before exhaling, Artemins was their only hope…...they could count on her right?

The sound of the entrance to the hanger sliding made him, Superboy, and Kid Flash look up. However, a second later a lone arrow flew through the air and struck the space just below the makeshift EMP. A wave of blue energy cascade out from the generator, the lights flickering from the EMP as the Androids both fell.

"…Ok that was cool as hell." James admitted. After making sure Robin, M'gann, and Kaldur were safe, Artemis went to get something to cut James, Wally, and Superboy out of the metal with. Thankfully by the time the archer returned the water had receded back into the pit that lead out to the sea.

The archer returned with a high-tech welder as Robin finished explaining that he faked being knocked out to avoid suspicion, "Um. Get Wolverine out first, he can grow his stuff back." Kid Flash said, tilting his head towards the other hero. James shot him a look, "What? Its not a bow and arrow." He pointed out.

"And it's not working anytime soon, EMP fries all machines. Remember?" Artemis asked in a irked tone. The least the speedster could do is be a little grateful for her saving his ass.

"All machines present at the time." The group looked up to see Red Tornado whirl into the hanger, setting down he took a quick glance around the room. "What has occurred?" he asked, even with no real emotion in his voice, the others assumed that he would ask in the same dry manner.

Robin put his hands on his hips before looking over at the disabled machines that caused them so much trouble. "Got a little visit from your family." He said.

"Your extremely NASTY family!" Artemis added in, James couldn't help but feel a little irony in that statement.

"I was not aware I had relations." Red Tornado replied as he began to approach the fallen robots.

"Where were you?" Superboy asked, wondering what took the Leaguer so long to respond to their situation.

"Monitor Duty. When it became clear cave communications were down, I attempted to investigate. But your Zeta tubes were nonfunctional, I transported to Providence and proceeded here." He explained, as soon as he finished the Sphere imbedded in the wall revved awake and managed to push itself free from the wall.

"Hey boy." Conner greeted warmly to the object. James smiled, right before a beam of red energy nearly took his eyebrows off. He looked back at Artemis with the now smoking welder. His eyes widened when he realized what that meant.

"The pulse has worn off!" he, Robin, and Kid Flash said at once. All eyes turned to Tornado who was leaning over the two machines. Suddenly he turned around with a uplift around his feet and two vortexes spinning around his hands, sucking the air out of the room. James and the others were helpless as the air was sucked out of their lungs.

* * *

James woke to the smell of something burning, he whipped his head around to see more Justice League members here than he'd seen in the cave before. Looking over to the left he saw Wally being cut out by flash using a plasma cutter and Captain Atom using his powers to get Superboy out of his. Batman was talking with Robin while M'gann and Kaldur rested on the ground.

"I know everyone is busy. BUT CAN SOMEONE GET ME OUT OF THIS!" He said loudly as he tried his foot claws once again but only being able to make a small hole in the metal.

"One second son. I'll get you out." A second later, the metal around him was bent apart, stepping out of it, James cracked the kinks out of his neck. Turning back, he saw who got him out of his bindings, in front of him was a big 'S' on the man's chest, James looked up to see Superman giving him a friendly smile.

"Thanks." He replied frankly before walking over to Wally and popping his claws, the Flash stepping back as James cut through the metal with his claws, freeing the Speedster, "So just that I got it straight, Red Tornado did choke us out right? That wasn't just a weird dream?" he asked his teammates as he moved over to Conner, who looked somewhat pissed off. Cutting him out of the metal, Superboy strode past him, ignoring his question.

After everyone fully recovered from the events of the day, the team met in the mission room where a table and seats had been set up. James had his mask off and was taking a drink from a bottled water he snagged from the kitchen, Robin and Artemis informed them that they saw the security cam footage and their conversation about the mole, but the others agreed that Artemis's show of loyalty was proof enough she was above suspicion. Even Kid Flash, after getting some 'nudges' from Robin and James.

Green Arrow approached the table and laid a bowl of pretzels on the flat surface, "Thanks, but no thanks." Kid Flash said to the hero.

"Yeah, what we want are answers, about Red Tornado and his siblings." Robin added in, getting nods of agreement from the rest of the group.

"Exactly." Kid Flash agreed, as the archer was about to take the bowl and leave, Kid Flash stopped him, "Leave the bowl." He insisted before shoveling handfuls of the snack into his mouth.

James gave the speedster an inquisitive look, "How you holding up? Imagine trying to phase took some out of you." He asked. None of them were exhausted but they weren't at their peaks either, M'gann and Kaldur especially needed some time to recover from their exposure to fire.

The red head shrugged as he swallowed, "I'll be ok. Still though I can't believe it was Red." He said. "I mean, he's in the League, how much info do you guys think he gave the bad guys? Like…do they know who we are?" he asked. That was a bug problem, the League had many secrets, obviously, but on that was most sacred were identities.

"The League doesn't have a database on it's member's private lives." The team turned to Batman as he approached them with Captain Marvel fallowing close by. "Red Tornado is a member of the Justice League, that makes him a League Priority. You will leave him to us. Until then, the League will be supervising you in shifts, Captain Marvel has volunteered for first watch," The Bat said as the Leaguer stepped forward and greeted the others warmly, James felt his anger rise. They were the ones who were attacked, how is it right that they can take over like this?!

"Bullshit! He came to our base and attacked us! How isn't this our fight?!" James asked in protest, "Me, Kid Flash, and Superboy were nearly drowned by one while Aqualad and Miss. Martian were nearly dehydrated. If it wasn't for Robin and Artemins we might not still be here!" he added, gesturing to his friends, Superboy turning to Batman.

"He could of have killed us, we should dismantle them." He growled out in anger.

"Enough." Batman stated darkly, "You will not peruse Red Tornado, this is a closed matter that WE will deal with. Are we clear?" he asked, everyone but James seemed to reluctantly agree, James however still glared at him, Batman glared right back, "Are. We. Clear?" he asked once more. For the briefest of seconds, James's brown eyes turned red before turning back to brown. His stature relaxing mildly as he nodded. Batman put the change in James aside for the moment, "I do however have a assignment for the team." He said before pulling up a newspaper clipping on the computer.

The clipping was of the Gotham City Mayor being attacked by a 'Gruella' Gorilla. "Aqualad, you and your team will depart for India and check this out." He said, the Atlantean nodding as the others got up and made their way to the hanger. As they left, Captain Marvel flew after them while Green Arrow walked up beside Batman, "You saw it too." He observed.

"Yeah, hard to miss. I haven't seen that look in anyone's eye since Logan argued with you." He said, thinking to when Logan and Batman argued. While they both had a immense amount of respect for one another, Wolverine and Batman didn't always see eye to eye on certain subjects. However they always put that aside when they worked together, "Should we be worried?" he asked.

Batman thought for a moment, James was not like his father. Not in every sense anyway, and James had shown great restraint in his career as a hero. But that was broken recently, "I trust him to come to us if he thinks there's a problem." He said, "Logan came to J'onn when he had trouble his Berserker side, history can repeat itself." He said simply.

Meanwhile, the Team was loading up into the bioship, just as Wolverine and Superboy were about to board, Sphere rolled up and gave a rev of excitement. Superboy held out his hand, "Nuh uh, not this time bud. Go." He said calmly before pointing to the cave where the Sphere rolled back to.

James waited for him on the ship but Superboy simply passed him by without a second thought, James frowned, had he done something to upset him?

He put those thoughts aside and took his seat near the right window. The ship could make it to India in a few hours, James leaned back in his seat, the bio chair folding out a place for his feet from it's mass so he could get a more comfortable position.

James couldn't believe that they were treated like that back at the cave, and he knew for a fact the others were thinking similar thoughts. _Guess this is what Rob, KF, and Aqualad thought when they got stiffed at the hall of justice._ When he heard felt the weight shift from takeoff, he looked over to the others, but was surprised to see Captain Marvel present next to Aqualad. _'Um, why is Captain Marvel coming along with us?'_ he asked though the mental link.

 _'_ _Isn't it obvious? They blame us for Tornado and asked him to come along, they don't trust us.'_ Kid Flash said bitterly in the mindscape of the others. James took a whiff of the hero, he smelled off. While he looked like a full-grown adult, but he smelled like kids. Children had a smell to them, so he must have kids or must be around them a lot in his spare time.

 _'_ _I would not venture that far.'_ Aqualad chimed in, _'I think we have not lost the League's trust, but we have been through an ordeal today. And this mission is apparently important enough not to wait.'_ He explained.

 _'_ _So, he's with us because their worried? Little late for that isn't it?'_ Conner asked bitterly.

 _'_ _Conner-'_ M'gann began but the clone looked away, silently asking her not to go down that line of thought with him right now.

James looked at the Leaguer, he was simply smiling and watching the clouds outside their window pass, _'Even if that is the case? I say we show them that we don't need a babysitter. You guys with me?'_ he asked across the mental link.

 _'_ _Hell yeah.'_ Artemis agreed as the others gave their consent as well.

* * *

 **Northern India, September 23** **rd** **2010, 21:36pm.**

As the Cloaked ship approached the appointed drop site, Artemis, Robin, and James stood from their seats as repel lines formed on the ceiling, clicking them onto their belts, James noticed the X on his belt. Looking over at Kid Flash as he pressed the symbol on his chest, making the red of his costume turn black and the yellow of his suit turn grey. Pressing the X on his belt, the yellow chest, arms, mask, and legs shifted to dark grey while the yellow stripes under his arms and on the sides of his neck turn red along with the white eyes of his suit while the X on his bet did as well. He grinned, "Ok, I take it all back about the suits. This is pretty cool." He said, making Robin grin at him. The Ship pulled to a halt over the jungle brush. The floor opened and the three repelled down to the forest floor.

Disconnecting the cables, the three spread out away from the ship as it landed to scout the perimeter. After circling around the immediate vicinity, they returned to the back of the ship where the others had disembarked, James could smell an animal close by, looking at the surrounding shrubbery he saw a pair of redeyes looking back at him. James turned to face the orbs staring at him, _'Wolverine?'_ Aqualad inquired, he held up his hand, telling them to be still.

When the eyes retreated into the darkness, he turned back to his teammates, "We're not alone here. There's predators here." He said, casting a glance back where he saw the eyes, "And they don't smell right." He said, Kid Flash opened his moth, "Literally, I mean literally." He explained, "It's like their….tainted." he explained.

Aqualad nodded, "Then we must be vigilant. Our mission is to investigate the attack that Mayor Hill survived, fan out and search for the scene of the attack. Contact the others on the telepathic link if you find anything." He said, "We'll split into teams to cover more ground. Kid, with Robin. Artemis and Miss. Martian, and Superboy and Wolverine. Me and the Captain will split off as well." He explained, the James noticed Conner look over at M'gann, the two having a private conversation in their minds.

The others nodded in agreement, Wolverine and Superboy headed off into the jungle as the others went off into the surrounding thicket as well. As they got further into the forest, James kept his ears peeled for any sign of life, what was strange was there was hardly any. The Jungle was always full of life, but now it just seemed abandoned, like someone scared it all away. It made him frown, that was until Superboy landed beside him, shattering a fallen tree. "Jesus! What's up with you?" he asked.

The close halted and turned to glare at James, the young man met his angered look with a blank expression. Superboy held his anger for a few moments but let it go with a sigh, "I'm sorry it's just…back at the cave, Superman got you out…..he called you son." He said, making his friend understand.

"Shit…..man, you know if I could-" James started.

"I know….I shouldn't be mad with you." He said with frustration, "I nearly lost M'gann today and I couldn't do anything…..and then that happened and now M'gann is mad at me for wanting to protect her and….I don't know what to do." He admitted crestfallen as he walked over to a tree and leaned against it. He knew that this was the last place for this sort of thing but today had been building up for him.

James sighed, "Conner…. your my friend…. probably my best friend. So, you should know I always got your back. You can tell me anything." He said truthfully. The clone allowed a small smiled to appear on his face before looking at James.

"Thanks….I really-" he started before James was tackled by a wolf, before he could react, Conner had two pounce onto his back, biting into his shoulders. He yelled out in pain before grabbing one and pulling it over his shoulder and throwing it at the one Wolverine was tangling with. Rolling back onto his feet, James popped the claws in his hands whilst he let a snarl escape his mouth involuntarily, here was a pack surrounding them. A canine leapt from the brush, he ducked down under it as it slid on the ground and faced him.

James's eyes were drawn to the black electric collar around it's massive neck, _"Everyone, we've encountered hostile wildlife! Very hostile!'_ Kid Flash shouted in the mindscape, the others giving reports of similar situations. The wolf pounced once more, Wolverine leaned to the side as he quickly jabbed his arm out, cutting off the collar without harming the wolf. The canine looked at him before running off.

 _'_ _Everyone! The collars are what's controlling them!'_ James said across the mindscape, Superboy caught one in midair with one hand around it's neck and used his free hand to rip the collar off. Dropping it to the ground, he stopped in place, fallowing his gaze he saw that Superboy had caught sight of what had to be the Alpha male of the pack. Like the other hounds, this wolf was larger than an average canine by a long shot. It was about as tall as he was. It had snow white fur, yellow yes, and a black nose.

It bore it's fangs and leapt down to the base of the hill it stood atop of, "Superboy. Listen carefully, this is the top dog, the Alpha, this guy won't back down after we get the collar off. So be ready. And whatever you do, don't back down." He advised as he unsheathed his claws once more.

Superboy grinned before cracking his knuckles, "You do know who your talking to right?" he asked, James grinned before locking eyes with the Alpha wolf. He ran into wolf packs in the Canadian wilderness, the Alpha of the pack was the leader and dominated over the others. Meaning they were usually the toughest of the pack, and given that these things were juiced on something that made this one dangerous.

He lowered itself close to the ground, not in a submissive way but in a show of challenge to the alpha. James let out a low growl that the wolf returned, the two charged. For a Moment James was back in the Canadian wilderness fighting the Wendigo. He blinked and he was back in the jungle, his momentary distraction was what the canine needed to pounce him and bite into his collar bone, James cried out in pain but did not fall. Superboy used this opportunity to grab the collar around its neck and pulled the collar off with his bare hands.

The wolf released it's jaws from Wolverine's shoulder and dropped onto the ground. It turned to look at Conner before jumping onto him, knocking the surprised teen onto his back. The wolf was face to face with Conner…and began licking him. "Gah! Hey! Stop!" the clone protested feebly as he smiled. James smiled a little at the sight of Conner bonding with the wolf. Superboy pushed the wolf off him, scratching him behind the ears, "Heya boy, your pretty friendly, now aren't you?" he asked.

As the bite on his collar bone healed, he linked up with the others through the telepathic link, _'Wolverine to everyone, me and Superboy encountered a pack of wolves wearing some weird collars. What about you guys?'_ he asked.

 _'_ _This is Miss. Martian, me and Artemis were attacked by giant Alligators, they were wearing collars exactly like those used at Belle Reve.'_ The Maritain reported in.

 _'_ _Me and KF ran into giant Vultures. They must have been on Cobra Venom, explains the super-size. They had collars too, but how did they get a super Steroid from a terrorist organization, and a prisoner collar from a United States prison?'_ he asked the others. _'Also, should go without saying, but what are they doing in India?'_ he added.

 _'_ _All fine questions, but we have to answer them another time. Captain Marvel has been captured.'_ Aqualad interrupted, making the others fall silent. _'It's safe to assume that the one who is controlling and enhancing these animals and who kidnapped Captain Marvel are one in the same. I have a clear trail to fallow, everyone regroup and we shall fallow it to its source.'_ Kaldur added, James looked over at Superboy as he stood up. The two nodded before taking off, after running a few meters through the Jungle. James noticed the Wolf running between him and the jumping Superboy, the two shrugged and let the canine fallow.

* * *

After a few minutes of making it through the brush, the trio met up with the rest of the team. "Is that a wolf?!" Kid Flash yelped out upon seeing the large canine. Wolverine and Superboy simply shrugged him off and continued, the group slowed as a hilltop dipped down into clearing where a large bunker was set up with pylons surrounding it. Hiding in the tall grass, the team scoped out the bunker. Kid Flash pulled his goggles down and scanned the area around the bunker. _'I could fly over and scout out the area.'_ Miss. Martian suggested.

 _'_ _No dice there's a dome surrounding the grounds. Doesn't look like we can pass through but a good shock could cause a momentary gap,'_ Kid Flash reasoned, his goggles picking up the electromagnetic signature. Wolverine could also hear the buzzing coming from the pylons in the ground.

 _'_ _Superboy sweep around the perimeter and position yourself at the rear, be ready to break in on my mark.'_ Aqualad ordered, Superboy nodded before beginning to circle around the base with the wolf fallowing him.

 _'_ _I see a target.'_ Artemis announced over the link, right by the door was a control panel that must have been linked up to the pylons.

 _'_ _Be ready everyone.'_ Aqualad said over the link before sliding down the side of the hill and running towards the dome where Artemis could get a shot at the pylons. Using his bioelectricity, he pulled the electric dome apart enough so that a small hole formed, Artemis let the arrow fly free through the hole, striking the control panel. Just missing Kaldur's head. The shield died down, as the team approached, James and Robin both noticed something on top of the bunker, a howler monkey.

Living up to its namesake, it howled into the night and a handful of primates came from the top of the rooftop and charged at the team. "Go for the collars! We don't need to put them down!" Wolverine called out as one of the chimps leapt at him, he grabbed the animal by its arm with one hand and unsheathed the claws on his other and cut through the collar. The chimp ran off into the forest after he dropped him to the forest floor, Artemis fired a pair of arrows at some monkeys that Robin was fighting off, the two retreated as well, freeing the by wonder up to return the favor as he threw four birdarang towards Artemis, cutting the collars off two chimps who tried to sneak up on her.

James sliced the collars off a pair as well just as the door to the bunker opened. "Oh you have got to be shitting me." James muttered as out from the base came a gorilla with a minigun strapped to it's back and holding the weapon in it's right hand with a red beret on it's head. He noticed a sliver of air try and sneak past, however he gorilla grabbed Miss. Martian and threw her onto the ground, pointing the minigun at he.

"Get your paws off her, you damn dirty ape!" Kid Flash called out as he sped towards the ape and threw himself at it, expecting to topple the massive best. But was knocked back from the abrupt stop and tumbled back across the ground, thankfully this had given M'gann the chance to levitate the gorilla up into the air and throw it back into the base with her telepathy.

Wolverine helped the speedster up, "Nice sneak attack, loved the part when you announced yourself." He said, making Kid laugh dryly at his joke before James stepped between him and machine gun fire, the bullets tore through his skin but stopped when they collided with his bones. His eyes turned red under his mask.

James let out a growl before turning around and unsheathing his claws, he felt rage flow through him and he ran through the gunfire and leapt at the gorilla and slashed his claws through the barrels of the minigun and slashed his other claws across it's chest, making three bloody streaks on it's chest before tackling it.

Wolverine's claws where poised over his head, ready to finish the job, _'James stop!'_ Robin shouted over the metal link. The hero realized what he was about to do and stopped himself, yet James stayed in that position ready to strike, the others were running towards him, ready to intervene but James's voice got through to them.

 _'_ _What are you guy's waiting for I don't know if this thing can call bluffs but the sooner you guys get in there the sooner we can get Marvel and get out of here!'_ he said, making the others silently breathe a sigh of relief as they ran past the young adult and into the base. However, the ape seemed to realize James was not going to take the killing blow and grabbed James's arms and flung him into the base, James tumbled across the ground into the base. The gorilla's collided with his face, dislocating his jaw as it readied to strike again before M'gann used her powers to lift it up and send it through a brick wall.

Aqualad helped James up onto his feet, the tracker pressed the palm of his hand up against the side of his mouth until he felt his jaw snap back into place. The team entered the room, at the far end was Captain Marvel strapped to a table with numerus bits of medical equipment around, an inhibitor collar clamped around his neck with a tiger on the ground with a collar as well. But the strangest thing about this entire scene, aside from the gorilla who had a beret on its head, was the stool high machine with a brain in a case on the top.

"It's the Brain!" Kid Flash exclaimed out of surprise.

"Ugh, I can see it's a brain." Artemis said obviously, a hint of disgust in her tone.

"Not A brain, THE Brain!" Kid Flash corrected.

The jarred brain rolled over to the ape, "In zee flesh….err, so to speak. Mallah?" he asked with a French accent, the ape grabbed a remote control and pressed a button, causing electric pylons to emerge from the floor and emitted a strange pulse that made the team collapse.

 _'_ _Miss. Martian, Superboy, now!'_ Aqualad signaled across the mental link. Miss. Martian's eyes turned green, the controller in Mallah's hand flew away from him and towards her, using her telekinesis she shut off the pylons just as Superboy broke through the rear wall behind Mallah exploded. The smoke cleared to show Superboy and the wolf. The canine growled at it's former captor before pouncing, pinning the beast to the ground before knocking the wolf aside, James came up from behind and slashed a shallow cut across it's back legs, making it fall onto it's knees and freeing Artemis and Robin it throw small explosives at the ammo canister on it's back and the remains of the gun, blasting it off.

While that was going on, the Brain's canister opened in the front with a laser blaster firing at Aqualad who blocked them with water shields he generated with his handles. The Atlantean ran for Captain Marvel, the Brain lined up another shot and fired, before the shot hit it's marl on Aqualad's back, the shot was blocked by James's claws which reflected the blast away. Wolverine sneered, "Just for future reference, do you need that chassis to live?" he asked as he slowlt closed in on the Brain who was rolling back towards Mallah.

Aqualad managed to free Captain Marvel, who in turn broke the collar around the bangle tiger's neck, and the three of them helped form a circle around the pair. The gorilla roared at the heroes, "Try it. I hate Monkeys." Superboy threatened as he cracked his knuckles.

The Gorilla stepped forward, "No Mallah." The Brain said calmly through its voice box as patches of it's body extended outwards and exposing it's inner workers. "This will not be our Waterloo. Au revoir, mes amis." The Brain said as his body seemed to power itself up, priming itself to blow. Kid Flash called for everyone to get own, James braced himself for the coming explosion, but it never came.

Instead the lights went off.

When they flickered back to life, the Brain case and Gorilla were gone. "What…..what just happened?" James asked in disbelief over what he just saw. He took a whiff of the air, their scents hadn't changed, they should be right here but…..they weren't. "Did they just freaking teleport?" he asked he others, who seemed just as stumped as he was.

* * *

Wolverine spent the next half hour doing a encirclement of the area, searching for any sign of the two's escape, the pair would have had to leave a trail for him to fallow but there was nothing. No footprints, no scents, not even a broken branch to indicate that something large had disturbed the area. James did have a theory however, he returned to the base after his sweep of the area and walked to where the Brain and Mallah were last seen.

Kneeling on the ground, he knocked his kuckles against the ground, it sounded hallow.

Brandishing his claws, he sliced into the ground. The floor was sliced apart, revealing a tunnel beneath the base, "Shit." He muttered before standing up and heading back to the bioship. While James went hunting for the Brain and Mallah, the team had decided to search for the other animals who still had collars on.

Reaching the Bioship he saw Superboy rubbing the sides of the wolf's neck, "Rest of the pack is gone, what are you still doing here boy?" he asked playfully as the canine's rear leg thumped against the ground at the clone's affection. James smirked as he walked over, the wolf noticed him and stood on it's hind legs and leaned onto James, licking him in the face.

"Heh, you want to stay with us boy? We got enough room." He offered to the beast, it's tail wagged excitedly at the prospect. Domesticating a wild animal wasn't a easy task, but between the way James had with animals and the way the wolf bonded with him and Superboy, it wouldn't be that much of a problem. Superboy looked estatic at the idea, as M'gann kneeled beside him to have metal talk with him, he walked over to Kaldur, Robin, and Captain Marvel, "There was a secret passage under the floor of the base, must go for a few miles, they're long gone by now." He explained to them. "I could track them down given enough time, but that could be weeks." He added.

"The mission was to investigate, and while capturing the Brain would have been beneficial, we cannot take the time to track him." Aqualad reasoned, Captain Marvel nodding in agreement.

"He's right. Plus, Batman would blow a gasket if you went AWOL like that." He added, Robin nodding in agreement. Captain looked at the other members of the team, "I'm glad I tagged along, I was curious it was exactly what you guys did. But I have a much better idea now." He explained, making the others eyes widened, the Leaguer noticed their expressions, "What?" he asked.

James rubbed the back of his head, "We assumed you came along because after what happened with Red Tornado…..the League didn't trust us to carry out missions." He explained for the rest of the team.

"OH! No! nothing like that, the League was just as blindsided by this as you guys, we don't blame you guys for not catching onto it. Besides I just tagged along because I never seen you guys in action. I wanted to see what I was dealing with you know?" he explained. The Teammates looked at one another, in hindsight they should have known that their mentors were just as surprised as they were, but they fact that Marvel came along with them seemed to indicate they lost their trust.

Aqualad spoke up, "Allow me to apologize Captain. We assumed when we should have asked." He said regretfully.

The Captain simply smiled and raised his hand, Aqualad shook it, "Apology accepted, now if you'll excuse me, I need to bolt." He said, walking away a few steps before taking off into the sky. The team took that as their que to load up into the ship.

"So what are you going to call him?" M'gann asked, referring to the newest member of the team, the wolf.

"What's wrong with wolf?" he asked somewhat clueless.

"Generic, but acceptable." Kid Flash chimed in.

James shrugged as he took his seat, "I was going to suggest Balto. But hey, whatever works." He said as pulled his mask back off his face. Looking at his reflection in the window, he thought back to Mallah, he nearly killed the gorilla. He WANTED to kill it, _This has got to stop._ He thought before taking a deep breath as the ship lifted off into he air. "Look guys….I have to tell you something." He began, turning his seat around to face the others.

He spent the next half hour explaining what he went through, the rage that overtook him, the physical change he went through when he lost himself, and how he had to stop himself from ending Mallah before. And how after he killed the Wendigo he saw that figure in his bathroom mirror when he woke up' When he was finished, the others were looking at him with concern, "I'm going nuts aren't I?" he asked.

"No your not." Kid Flash said sympathetically, "Look man you just got to work on controlling it. We'll help you." he sated, the others nodded in agreement, "But listen, none of us think you're a bad person for what you did." He added earnestly, making James look up from his lap at him.

"He's right, we're a team. We help one another out." Superboy stated plainly, M'gann nodding I agreement with her secret boyfriend.

James nodded, however he was not entirely put at ease, "I appreciate it guys, really. But…..if I do lose control….and I can't bring myself back then you guys HAVE to put me down." He said, Robin opened his mouth to protest, but James stopped him, "If I hurt one of you guys when I'm like that….I could never forgive myself." He confessed to the others.

The others were silent after that, "Aw you do care." Kid Flash joked, making James and the others glare at him, "Joking!" he said to his own defense.

James sighed, he was honestly regretting telling them this, however Kaldur placed a hand on is shoulder, "We all know this couldn't have been easy to say, but we WILL stand with you my friend." He said honorably. James could only nod, he knew that Kaldur could make the hard choice if it came down to it.

After a few more hours of flight, Mount Justice came into view, the team used the to write up their reports for the mission. Landing in the Hanger, James noticed most of the damage sustained during the Reds attack had been repaired already, the group exited the ship and made their way to the briefing room, waiting for them was Laura and Wonder Woman waiting for them.

James inwardly groaned, he really hoped they didn't have another mission to partake in, today had been exhausting, he was starting to feel the events take their toll on him. The minute he saw his bed he was going to sleep for a week straight. "Captain Marvel reported the mission was a success, well done." Wonder Woman congratulated with a small smile. "I know that you've all had a busy day, and I don't mean to add to it but I have an announcement." She said, the group looked at one another, silently wondering what it could be.

"I'd like to introduce you all to your new teammate." Wonder Woman said, stepping aside and gesturing behind her. Stepping forward was a young woman, no older than seventeen, she had long dark black hair that was wild like she had been flying. Her sapphire colored eyes were highlighted by her dark hair and light olive skin with pink lips. Her figure was athletic, but overly muscular. Covering her was a costume that seemed like armor but was barely reinforced, with some padding across her abdomen and shoulder pads wrapped around her arms.

The costume was dark as her hair, with five pointed stars on her sides, she had silver boots on that were virtually soundless with matching bracelets over her forearms with half gloves going up the top of her hands in crests that went from her neck, with a silver 'W' around her neck, to her boots. Around her hips was a belt that looked like a thinner version od Wonder Woman's but silver with a black star in the center that where the belt clipped together. On her hip was a silver lasso wound in the same way Wonder Woman's was and Just as long as it was, James had heard that Wonder Woman's forced people to tell the truth, it made him wonder what this girl's could do.

"This is Donna Troy, princess of Themacyria. Also known as Wonder Girl. My protégé." Wonder Woman introduced, a tad bit of pink dusting the girl's cheeks at her full title. James could smell a mix of fruit, sea breeze, and tropical isles.

Donna smiled and gave a small bow, "It's a pleasure to meet you all. My friends call me Donna." She introduced herself.

Miss. Martian smiled brightly before walking forward to greet her, "It's nice to meet you, I'm M'gann. Or Miss. Martian…..or Megan….it's nice to meet you." She stumbled, making the new team member chuckle before shaking her hand.

Aqualad, Robin, Artemis, Superboy, and Kid Flash greeted her as well, the latter of witch trying to hit on her, only to wind up having Donna give him a glare and shut him up. James snickered to himself, "Oh laugh it up wild boy." Wally muttered, getting a elbow to his side before walking over to Donna.

"My name is James, welcome to the Team." He introduced himself with a kind greeting, Donna gave him a warm smile and shook his hand, her grip was strong as Conner's.

"Nice to meet you, I suppose we'll be bunking together." She said, James had to stop himself from chucking at her choice of words, Donna seemed to catch it though, "I mean living. We'll be living together….is that the correct term?" she asked, hoping that was better.

M'gann smiled, "For lack of a better term, yes. Me, Superboy, and James live here. Wolf and Sphere too." She said, gesturing to herself, Conner, and James. She turned to the latter of which, "In fact, James I know there's a empty room down the hall from mine, would you mind showing her?" she asked. James nodded in agreement, as James walked with Donna, M'gann noticed something, "Um, James, back of your suit-"

"I know. Bullet holes, felt the draft." he called back, the holes in his suit coming from Mallah's minigun.

As the pair left, Laura looked at her kin with some concern, _'Ms. Kinney,'_ Laura's head snapped towards M'gann, who was looking directly at her as the others debriefed with Wonder Woman, _'James told us about his…. issues lately. And we promised we would help him, I just want you to know.'_ She explained.

Laura sighed, _'It's…..a family thing M'gann. His father has it, I have it, and so does he…. we call it our Berserker Rage…..it'll talk with him later all the same.'_ She said, the green skinned girl nodding in response.

Meanwhile, James led the Amazon to her quarters, "-we meet up every day around three o'clock, by then most of the schools our team members attend let out. We don't have missions every day but training is mandatory and we have that on a tri weekly basis from Black Canary." He explained to Donna, who nodded in understanding.

"Diana has told me about Black Canary, she's said to be one of the most skilled combatants in the Justice League." She said, James thought back to his sparring sessions when he and the blonde would fight. She kicked his ass, plain and simple.

"That is a accurate statement." He said honestly, "Has Wonder Woman told you much about the rest of the world?" he asked curiously, he knew that Wonder Woman was from a island occupied completely by ageless women and that originally they saw males as a sort of corrupting force. But he assumed that hopefully the outside world wasn't seen like that anymore.

Donna thought for a moment, "To be truthful, this cave is only what I've seen of man's world. Diana assures me that our ideas of what it is has changed." She explained, however her voice trailed off near the end as they slowed to a stop.

"But?" James ventured.

She sighed, "I would rather take my own word over that of someone else's. Even Diana's." she explained. James nodded at the logic, you can't go by everyone else's word. "I've also heard of your father, the Wolverine, and how you now carry his mantle." She said, "Diana told me she met him during the World War…..she called him a short, hairy, angry little man. But one of the fiercest warriors." She added as well.

"Yeah that's what everyone says." He said, his father being described as a short hairy man was like calling the kettle black. Donna looked at him inquisitively, "I never met him, obviously, I have heard of him but aside from pictures I've never seen him." He explained.

Donna felt guilty, "Forgive me, I didn't mean to open a old wound." She said apologetically.

James simply smiled at her and shrugged, "It's ok. Id be weird if people never brought up my father around me…so is Wonder Woman your family? If you don't mind me asking." He questioned, wanting to get to know his new teammate.

She shook her head, "No nothing like that, in fact I'm technically not even an Amazon, I was adopted into their culture by our queen. I suppose you could call Diana my adopted sister, but we're all sisters on Themacyria." She explained.

James raised a eye at that, "So wait, you don't have powers then?" he asked.

She quickly shook her head, "No I do, like Diana I was blessed by the gods. Like her I can fly and have speed and strength, however I'm nowhere near as her's. she explained. "It could be my age…or something else." She said, somewhat ashamed.

James knew the feeling, she wasn't as good as her mentor and it made her feel somewhat inferior. He gave her a half smile, "Don't let it get to you. Superboy only ha a few of Superman's powers, Kid Flash isn't as fast as the Flash, Miss. Martian can't phase or shapeshift into men very well, Artemis and Robin both don't have as much experience as their mentors, and my healing factor is slow compared to my sister's and dad's." he said, trying to cheer the new teammate up.

She half smiled at his attempt to reassure her, "Look we're all here because we could be better than we are right now. We have potential, you have potential. We just gotta hone it." He said with a shrug, making her fully smile at his words. "Now come on, I don't want Wonder Woman to get the wrong idea and beat me to death."

She rolled her eyes, "She may be an older sister, but she knows I can handle myself. To be honest I really just want to see the rest of the world." She admitted as they rounded the corner, approaching the door to her bedroom, tapping the pad on the side of the door the metal door slid open, showing her room.

"It's a little spartan I know. But me, M'gann, and Conner will take you out shopping tomorrow for some funishings. Give you chance to look around Happy Harbor." He offered, knowing that the pair would be more than willing to help….well M'gann will be at least.

She nodded, "That sounds pleasing." She said with a smile.

"By the way, 'pleasing' is a little old fashioned, 'nice' would probably work better." He explained, Donna nodded at his advice, "If you need anything, M'gann is just around the corner and the kitchen is just down this hall, y room is in the opposite direction, and Superboy's is back towards the mission room." He instructed.

"Thank you, James." She said, bowing her head slightly as thanks, James nodded before turning down the hall and making his way towards his room. Upon entering, he closed the door behind him and locked it, pulling the top of his suit off, he kicked the boots on his feet off before walking towards and collapsing on the bed.

He slept like a rock, and for the first time in a while, he wasn't plagued by nightmares.

 **AN: Yes, Donna Troy the first Wonder Girl is in this. As it turns out, Greg Wiseman, the creator of Young Justice (and Spectacular Spider-Man, another one of my favorite series) planned on having her in the first season of Young Justice, however WB said no the first time and by the time they said yes. Cassie was the only available choice. As of now she still exists in Young Justice but left the team for some unknown reason.**

 **If this is your first-time hearing about her…I'm not surprised.**

 **Donna has….a very complicated origin to say the least. Now if you know them then you might know the origin that I referred to in the chapter. As for the look I used, it is her Rebirth suit, however unlike that costume she does not wield a sword and shield.**

 **Now as for the Berserker, it will be explained further but don't worry, it should make sense.**


	11. Chapter 11: Interlude

**Interlude**

 **September 25** **th** **2010, Mount Justice. 7:35 am.**

James woke up feeling better than he has been in the past week. Yesterday's exhausting events was attributed to that, but also talking about what he's been going through with the others helped as well. The Tracker slowly got out of bed and stretched his limbs out until he heard satisfying pops, he slipped into some old jeans and a white Henley shirt with the sleeves rolled up his forearms. Brushing his teeth, James exited the room and made his way towards the kitchen to grab a quick bite to start his day.

He took a seat on the couch after taking an apple from the bowl on the countertop, turning on the TV, he flipped through the channels looking for something to watch. Unfortunately, aside from the news there really wasn't anything on, upon turning off the TV he could hear something coming from this mission room. Standing up he began walking toward the mission room, eating his apple as he did, upon arriving he saw what the commotion was about.

Donna had initiated the training regimen and was sparing against a hard light constructs, four of them closed in around her. Donna dropped onto one knee and swiped her leg out, knocking one of them off their feet, she reached out and grabbed it and jumped up into the air. She hovered above the others, shocking James before she threw the one she had into one of them and diving both her feet into one while she locked arms around the remaining one and slammed onto the ground like a wrestler from TV.

Sitting up from the ground, Donna wiped the sweat from her brow as she floated up onto her feet and noticing James. She grinned before waiving at him, "Morning James! Care for a spar?" she asked politely.

James gulped his apple down, on one hand he wanted to be polite to his new teammate, but on the other he didn't want to get every muscle in his torn apart by Wonder Girl. "….sure why not?" he asked as he swallowed the rest of his food as he walked into the ring. Donna raised hands with the palms open, like a viper ready to strike while James got into his usual stance with his left hand extended out with his hand cupped slightly and his right closer to him and in a fist.

Donna smirked before charging forward across he ground and swung her foot up towards the side of his head. James raised his forearm to block, pushing the leg back he swung overhead that she blocked by crossing her arms and blocking it, James fallowed with an uppercut that she backflipped away from. James ran forward, he assaulted her by trying to land a hit on her, but she blocked every blow with her forearms. One thing was for sure, those bracelets of her hers MUST have been able to deflect bullets from how they hurt his hands.

They locked forearms against one another, Donna smirking at how their sparing session was going. James realized he was to, "Decent form, though Diana mentioned you were more proficient with blades." She challenged, James hesitated for a moment, and that's when she struck. Sliding her foot forward she locked it around James's and pulled, making him fall onto his back which she quickly recovered from by rolling onto his side and kneeling upright.

"That's kind of a dirty trick." He noticed, the two of them sharing a smile before James unsheathed his hand claws, "Won't fall for that again." He said with a smirk, he lunged, swiping his claws which Donna blocked with her sliver bracelets, he was on the offensive now, jabbing the blades of his left hand she parried them aside but sung his entire body around so that his other claws came around just short of her cheek. "And yeah, my blades are my specialty." Swiping them upward and stopping just short of her chin.

Donna was looking at him with a observing eye, his fighting had drastically improved with the addition of his claws, and he showed a near perfect amount of control with them. She took back into the, her hand going for the lasso on her hip and unwound it at him, incisively James raised his forearm to block the rope, the silver band wrapping around his arm tightly as well as his blades. She coiled the string around her wrist and gave a strong pull, enough to pull James off the ground and over her head. "Whoops!" she called out, not meaning to pull THAT hard.

James was sent flying towards the entrance to the room, just as Conner and M'gann entered, crashing into the former. Thankfully he sheathed his claws the minute he left the ground and didn't injure the clone. The pair groaned as they hit the floor, "Ugh, hey Conner." He greeted as the clone pushed him off effortlessly.

Donna flew over to her fallen sparring partner and helped unwrap the lasso from his arm, "Sorry, I've been working on that move but that was my first time using it on someone." She apologized to both James and Conner, who merely got up and helped James onto his feet.

"I've been hurt much worse. No problem." James shrugged off, "But I want a rematch later." He added, he was having fun Sparing with Donna. He usually did but most of the time when he spared it was against Superboy it was around the same level as him, Donna was probably better than him, which meant a new challenge.

The Amazon smirked, "I was about to suggest the same thing." She said before noticing M'gann and Conner wearing civilian clothing, M'gann was holding some spare cloths for her to wear until she could get her own.

As she left to change, Conner turned to James, "So what's the verdict? How good is she in a fight?" he asked, curious as to how their new teammate was in a brawl.

James shrugged, "Well she managed to throw my ass across the room. That should say something." He said simply, the pair didn't seem all that impressed by the information, "What?"

"Well I can throw you like a ball, and so could M'gann if she wanted to." Conner pointed out, making James frown, to prove his point Conner grabbed him by the back of his shirt and lifted him up. "See?" he asked smirking as James struggled to get free. The Zeta Tube let up, _'Artemis, B07.'_ The computer called out as the archer arrived at the cave, walking over in her normal clothes she saw Conner holding James up by the back of his shirt.

She was forced to cover her mouth in order not to laugh aloud, when she was finally able to say something without bursting out in laughter. "So…..what's going on here?" she asked, snickering to herself at the sight.

"Artemis, hit him." James said, not amused at all by his predicament. Conner dropped him onto his feet, "So what are you doing here this early?" he asked.

She shrugged, "School is closed today and Green Arrow has some League business. Figured I'd see if you guys have anything going on." She answered as she crossed her arms over her chest, "Besides, I wanted to see what the newbie can do." She explained.

"We're taking her to the local mall to buy some essentials, clothes, furnishings, stuff like that." M'gann said as she shifted her skin tone from green to Caucasian in order to better blend in amongst the populace.

Artemis smirked, "I'm in, it's better than sitting around the house sharpening arrows, Besides, some girl time wouldn't hurt." She said, James and Conner sharing a look, girl time did not sound all that entertaining. The sound of footsteps made theotheers look to see Donna walking down the hall in the clothes that M'gann gave her.

"Um….how exactly does someone fight in this?" she asked, trying to raise her foot out all the way in the skirt that M'gann gave her, it was dark blue in color with a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up just past her bracelets. She had changed her graves for a pair of boots. She clearly was not entirely comfortable, obviously from the look on her face.

"….ok yeah I NEED to come along." Artemis said, seeing that the Amazon in fact did need help understanding normal dress code.

 **September 25** **th** **2010, Happy Harbor Mall, 8:08 am.**

After explaining that she would need to leave her bracelets with Artemis as not to attract attention and that her lasso would need to remain hidden, Donna was more than ready to get some comfortable clothes. "By Athena. This is incredible." Donna said in awe as she looked around the interior of the Bioship, she looked at M'gann in the pilot's chair, "And you took this all the way here to Earth?" she asked.

"Actually it's more like I ran away with Uncle J'onn, my parents sent her afterword's." The Martian explained, gaining a confused look from the amazon, "We call the ship a 'she'. At least that's what Wally says." She furthered, Donna nodding in understanding.

James looked outside to see the mall coming into view, the mall was a large five story building with a gigantic parking lot almost surrounding the structure, "M'gann can you do a drop and go? Have the ship waiting for us in stealth?" he asked, she nodded as the Bio-Ship flew down close towards the ground, standing up from his seat, M'gann slowed the ship as she opened a hole in the floor for them to exit through. Coming to a stop, the five dropped from the ship into the parking lot while the ship flew off, still cloaked.

Thankfully the part of the ot they dropped into was surrounded by cars with none of the owners inside, "Is this always how you go shopping?" Donna skied with amusement.

"No sometimes we parachute in." James joked, making Donna chuckle.

Entering the mall, Donna was blown away completely by the scale of the building, there were stores everywhere, selling everything from toys to message chairs. "Great Here….look at all the people." She said in awe, there were easily over two hundred people. Being the only mall within miles it was popular to say the least.

"Ok so what do you need?" Artemis asked as they walked around aimlessly, "Clothes aside, you'll probably need some entertainment, got any hobbies?" she asked.

Donna shook her head, "Not exactly, I mostly trained on the island, not much room for anything else." She explained as they passed a local gallery, she stopped when she saw photo of a sunset, "Athena…what is that?" she asked, the other stopping to see what peaked her interest.

"The sunset?" Conner asked.

Donna shook her head, "No, the…it's not a painting…what is it?" she asked herself.

"Oh! You mean the Photo. It captures a image at the exact second it was taken perfectly." M'gann explained to the Amazon. She looked between Donna and the photo, "We could go in, see if there's any you like." She offered. The Amazon smiled as they walked in, they walked out with five pictures that she loved in a small bag, "Ok, next we should get you some clothes, shoes too." M'gann said as they passed the Build a Bear store with dozens of little kids inside.

Artemis nodded, "She's right, I don't know what they have on Themacyria but you'll have a lot more choices here." She said, the image of a Grecian isle coming to mind. As the image stayed in her head she realized something, "Um….Donna…..do you have anything…well…..for under your clothes?" she asked.

Donna looked at her strangely, "No, why?" James nearly tripped over himself and Superboy' face went beat red.

Artemis all but dragged the group to the nearest Victoria Secret's store, as she, Donna, and M'gann entered, Donna noticed that both Conner and James were standing outside the threshold of the store, "Aren't you two coming?" she asked, the two boys didn't so much as look as the mannequins. Conner may be a clone with little to no social skills but he could be embarrassed as much as the next guy.

Artemis smirked, "Yeah, aren't you two coming in with us?" she teased.

"No." they both said.

Donna gave them a weird look, "Why?"

James and Conner looked at one another, "We uh…need to pick up your entertainment!" Conner proclaimed, saying what first came to mind.

James snapped his fingers, "He's right, we need to get you the best movies, how can ou function here wihou ever seeing the Iron Giant? Or Dawn of the Dead, or Shane?" he asked as he pated Conner's shoulder and led him away, "Divide and conquer, we'll get the movies, contact us when you want to meet up. After your done here!" he added quickly, dragging the clone away as quickly as possible.

Artemis was trying her damnedest not to laugh, M'gann however was beat red over Conner's reaction, while Donna simply didn't understand. "What just happened?" she asked.

Artemis put a hand around her shoulder, "Let me explain Donna, see these things." She pointed to a model with a set of lingerie on, "Boys both admire, and fear it. They are called Bras and panties." She explained.

Meanwhile, James and Conner had found the movie store and were not leaving until M'gann gave them the signal over the mental link that they were done. "Nice thinking back there." James said thankfully to his friend as they browsed the store. He would much rather grab some movies than go underwear shopping with a bunch of girls, it felt too…..awkward.

"Let's not talk about it. At all." Conner said, James nodding in agreement as the pair browsed the store, James and the others had received credit cards that help a nigh unlimited amount of cash, however they were used sparingly since they were Batman's. So buying supplies like food and entertainment wasn't a big deal, but they couldn't be used to buy a sports car.

"So how are things with M'gann? You seem less angry lately so I assume it's going well." James said, Conner elbowing him slightly. He was happy that his two friends found companionship with one another, however there was the small issue that Artemis had an infatuation with the boy of steel, but hopefully she would piece it together eventually and they could move on.

Conner looked away bashfully, "It's…..nice." he admitted, knowing that the clone wasn't most talkative out of their team, James simply nodded as he picked up a move from the shelve. Making their way to the cash register, they paid for their purchases exited the store and found someplace to sit and wait for M'gann to give the all clear for them to meet up.

Whilst the pair waited, James felt this burner phone vibrate. Opening the phone, he saw he received a text message, _'Meet up. Today. 4:30.'_ Fallowed by a few coordinates, James pocketed the phone, the coordinates were just outside New York, outside Albany. Out in the middle of nowhere, Cheshire did want to be safe rather than sorry, James's mind thought back to their last meeting.

 _'_ _Enjoyment' aside, I am not getting involved with the Shadows Assassin. Might work for the Dark Knight but I'm not too sure._ He thought decisively, while their last meeting was…. interesting, while he did trust her he couldn't risk screwing this up. An inside source with the Shadows is invaluable, he wasn't going to screw this up.

 _'_ _James, Conner, we're heading for the food court.'_ M'gann said over the Mental Link, the two stood from their seats and headed for the escalators, the food court was on the second floor in the center of the room on a circle, supported by pillars underneath. Walking to the food court, James went to get some food while Conner grabbed a table for them to sit at, M'gann relayed their orders over the link. James got a hot dog for him and a burger for Conner.

Sitting at the table, the two dug into their food until Conner saw the girls coming, James turned around and saw Donna's choice of clothing.

Gone was the skirt, boots, and dress shirt. Now Donna wore a pair of blue jeans with a weaved belt looped around her waist with a silver, round buckle. She had on a T shirt, with a rounded collar that showed more of her skin, that was red with yellow stars going up the sides like her costume, only these ones were gold. Covering her was a black jacket with the lapel open. Competing her look was the pair of light brown cowgirl boots.

"Well I think your fresh look is working. James seems impressed." Artemis said, making the tracker realize he had been staring at her as she sat down between him and M'gann, he then directed a glare the archer's way. She smirked in response before sitting down, "So you guys find anything good?" she asked.

"The Thing, Unforgiven, Kill Bill vol. 1&2, and of course, Star Wars…. original trilogy." He said, adding the last part upon seeing the critical eye Artemis gave him, she nodded in satisfaction at his choices.

James passed Donna the salad she had ordered, being used to more natural food, and the five began to dig in. As they sat, M'gann struck up conversation with Donna, asking about the lifestyle on Paradise Island. She explained that while the Amazons where well known as warriors, there were also scholars, architects, and many other lifestyles that were presumed. "So how did you become Wonder Girl?" she asked, "I had to show my Uncle I was ready, I had to compete against others for the right." M'gann explained.

Donna smiled, "I underwent something similar, the amazons held trials overseen by our queen and Diana. I lost to another Amazon, but Diana saw that I had the traits she saw fit for being her protégée, I was dubbed Wonder Girl the next day." She explained before smiling sheepishly, "Although I doubt that you had to disguise yourself to compete." She said bashfully, brushing her hair back.

"What do you mean?" Superboy questioned.

Donna looked away, "Diana didn't want me to compete, so I disguised myself with armor and wasn't revealed until the end. She said my determination helped her see I was worthy." She explained.

The others smiled at her more mischievous side, "So what about your powers? You got super strength, obviously, and flight." James said, rubbing his chin from when he collided with Conner.

"Divine Blessings from the Gods. Same as Wonder Woman." She said with a shrug. "Why, where'd you get your claws?" she asked jokingly.

"Hey they can cut through anything." James defended, Donna raised her arm until the sleeve fell enough to expose the silver bracelets she was wearing under them, "….most anything." He corrected, making the Amazon smirk triumphantly. "We were interrupted during our match." He pointed out.

"I am more than willing for another spar." Donna challenged.

James smiled, "Oh you are going to fit in well Donna." He said, Artemis and Conner nodding in agreement while M'gann giggled.

* * *

 **September 25** **th** **2010, Mount Justice. 9:12 am.**

After purchasing a few more items for her personal quarters, Donna was content with her belongings and the five decoded to head back to base. When they, the group was greeted by the remainder of their teammates awaiting them in the Hanger. "Where have you guys-" kid flash started before seeing James and Conner carrying shopping bags. The speedster snorted down a laugh, "Never mind." He said.

James shot him a look, "We have a mission?" he asked, wondering if they kept the Team waiting for them to return with the Bio-Ship.

Robin shook his head, "Nah, my and Batman's patrol doesn't start until later. Figured I'd hang here. How was shopping?" he asked grinning.

"Bite me boy wonder." James shot back as he fallowed Donna towards her room to drop off her things with Conner. Dropping her belongings off, James made his way to the mission room where Kaldur was in, working on the computer.

"Kaldur, got a minute?" he asked the Atlantean as he turned to look at him.

"Of course." He said with a nod before dismissing the screens, "How may I help you?" he asked.

James looked around, making sure they were alone before speaking, "My contact pinged me, I'm going to meet her in a few hours." He said in a whisper as he showed him the coordinates of where they would meet, "Just want to keep you in the loop." He explained.

Aqualad nodded, "I understand. Be careful." He warned warily, while he had faith I James he did not trust Cheshire.

"Don't worry I will. Me and the others are getting together a little movie in the living room, as leader you should join." He said, smiling a little. Kaldur mirrored it.

"Very well." He said as the two of them walked towards the corridor heading to the living room. Entering the room, Kid Flash ran past them to the microwave just as the popcorn finished and then hopped onto the couch beside Robin, Aqualad took his spot on the other side of the boy wonder as he kicked his feet out. M'gann, Artemis, and Donna took up the couch near the wall while James got the movie cases together, "Ok everyone, we have a few choices. First one up is The Thing, show of hands, who wants to see it?" he asked.

The choices were The Thing, Star Wars, Kill Bill, and Unforgiven.

Clint Eastwood won the vote.

Sitting down between the couches, James got comfortable as the movie began to play with the group had Wally go make snacks at super speed while the movie opened, handing everyone a bowl of popcorn. Donna noticed James on the floor, "James you can have my seat if you want." She offered before floating into the air with her legs tucked her thighs. James smiled before taking her place on the couch and she hovered in between the couches as the move started.

"…..wait if we can do that then why is M'gann sitting?" Wally asked, everyone turning to look at the Martian.

She shrugged, "The couch is comfortable."

As the movie began, Donna, M'gann, Conner, and Kaldur watched with interest as the film played. James loved westerns, in a sense they reminded James of what his father might be like, a man wandering the world doing good before leaving. He frowned, _only difference is that the cowboys settle down. Logan's been at this for nearly a hundred years._ He thought sadly. In a sense he felt bad for his father, as far as anyone knew he became a superhero around WWII, and fought in almost every war since then.

No one really knew anything about the original Wolverine, he joined the JSA because they were the ones doing good in the world. He wanted to change, he joined the Justice League for the same reason.

"Um…..James?" Donna asked in a whisper, James was taken out his thoughts and looked over to Donna leaning over with her eyes glued to the TV, "What's smallpox?" she asked as she read the words on the screen that told the backstory of the film.

"Disease that killed a lot of people back in the day." He answered before eating some popcorn. Donna asked sparse questions throughout the film as it payed, by the end, she was clearly enjoying it. M'gann seemed somewhat confused by the character's moral choices, and Kaldur was a somewhat glad that they hadn't had any recent missions in the desert. At least not since their mind wipe.

When they had told James about the idea, he was both ad that he wasn't able to help them, but also somewhat grateful. His family had a…..history of having memories tampered with. Thankfully however it could have been worse if M'gann didn't try and shield the others from it, they could have had total memory loss.

He shook those thoughts aside and simply sat back to enjoy the movie.

* * *

"M'gann I realize that movie was fictional…but you're SURE there's nothing like that in the universe?" Donna asked, the movie Alien had scared both of the girls and Kaldur a good bit. James and the others however found it amusing that they had been frightened by the creature in the movie. They had gotten though all the films, however James had to leave to meet up with Cheshire, while the others talked, he slipped away and headed for the hanger.

Entering the large room, Sphere rolled over to greet him, "Heya buddy. How's life?" he asked, the ball making a beeping noise in response, "Good for you pal." He said affectionately as he petted the side of the machine before walking towards his bike. Slipping his coat on, he walked over to the Zeta tube and typed in the coordinates for the New York location under the bridge. Hopping on his bike he revved it to life before driving into the tube.

The next second his was in New York, speeding away to the meeting spot.

 **September 25** **th** **2010, 4:25 pm. Albany, New York**

When most people thought of New York, the first thing that came to mind might have been crowded city streets, the Statue of Liberty, or the Empire State building. Nut What slipped some people's minds was that New York as a state had an expanse of country roads and skyscraper-less provinces like any other state.

The coordinates that Cheshire had sent him led him to a roadside rest stop, with a building for bathrooms and a large dumpster for trash beside it. There was also a park bench where Cheshire was sitting in her regular clothes. Walking over with his hands stuffed into his pockets, James took a seat next to her, "So…are we going to screw in the bushes this time" she asked.

James fought down the blush, "One; you kissed me. Two, I say we keep this professional from now on. Best thing we can do." He said curtly.

The woman rolled her eyes, "Ah well, for what it's worth, your not a half bad kisser." She said.

"Thanks. Now look, have you heard anything about Red Tornado?" he asked, while the League had told them that they would handle it James knew that him and the rest of the Team wanted some personal Payback against the Reds. So far he hasn't made a single public appearance since his betrayal, and the fact that he knew the location of their base also didn't help.

Jade shook her head, "I haven't heard anything….why?" she asked.

"He was the mole. We got attacked." He explained, he could sense Jade tense, "Relax, Artemis is safe…saved us all actually." He said, hoping that Jade might feel at least a little proud.

Jade sighed, "Well…..guess that makes this ironic." She said.

Before James could ask what she meant, a harpoon shot out of his chest, looking down in shock he was pulled back over the bench into the woods.

As he was dragged along the ground, James reached back and sliced through the back of the harpoon with his claws. Rolling across the ground, he pulled out the Harpoon with a grunt. His eyes were turning red, _NO! Do not lose control! Keep it-_ he thought before his back was pelted with suppressed gunfire.

James grit his teeth as he an deeper into the woods, taking cover behind a tree, the bark splintered as a few shots embedded into the bark. The tracker took a motet to think, _Fucking Cheshire! She set me up! But why…..later. Escape ambush now, get answers later._ He thought to himself, giving his back a few seconds to heal. The damage wasn't so bad, the shots were big a nine millimeter slugs from his rough guess, and most had gone straight through.

Just as he took a step away from the tree, a cable swung out from behind the tree and wrapped around him, pinning him to the side of the tree. He raised his fist and popped his claws to slice the cable. The blade slid against the binding, but it didn't cut.

"But…..how?" he muttered in astonishment.

"Adamantium." James looked over to see Jade walk out from behind the tree, "They came prepared, didn't they?" she asked as figures dropped from the trees to the forest floor. They were the same assassins that saved Ra's from.

James glared at Cheshire, "You're working with the guys who tried to axe Ra's?" he asked.

Cheshire crossed her arms over her chest, "These guys have been stealing contracts from us ever since Rhelasia. They reached out to us, they said if we could get them you, then they wouldn't just give us our clientele again, they'd actually join us." She explained, making James's eyes widen in shock. "as it turns out, they weren't even trying to assassinate Ra's Al Ghul. They were there for you." She said, pointing a finger at him.

James bared his teeth, "Cheshire when I get out of this I swear to god I will-" he started before a collar was clamped down on his neck, it was the same type as the ones used at Belle Reeve, only this one was modified to include a muzzle with the ninjas strapped onto his face. He couldn't speak, but he still glared fiercely at Jade.

"Oh please, don't tell me you actually believed the whole 'girl wants out of the game and the big strong man is the only one who can save her' cliché." She said, rolling her eyes at the thought. She leaned in close to James, "Here's some free advice James. Everyone is only out for themselves, you thought I wanted to help you for what? Because it's the right thing? No, I banked on you trusting me, maybe even enough to show me your team's little clubhouse one of these days. But when these guy's leader made that offer? I was not going to decline."

James looked down at the ground, he thought he won her over without relying on his senses to say otherwise. He only had himself to blame for this.

"Hope the lesson sinks in, and for what it was worth. You're not half bad at kissing." She said before walking back towards the way James was dragged from. The tracker felt something jabbed into his neck and something injected to his body, his body became limp but he remained conscious, the cable was unwrapped from the tree and he fell to the waiting arms of two of his captors.

As James was carried off, he felt anger, at Cheshire for lying to him. At his captors for perusing him relentlessly. But most of all, at himself for letting himself get fooled.

* * *

 **September 25** **th** **2010, 5:00 pm. Mount Justice.**

Kaldur was beginning to get concerned, James hadn't reported in yet and he was overdue. James always checked back when he said he would. "Come in James, this is Aqualad. Report." He said into the radio he pulled up on a holoscreen. Artemis, Superboy, Donna, M'gann, and Wally were waiting to hear a response. The leader of the team sighed as his fourth attempt showed no results.

"Now are you going to tell us why your freaking out over James or are we just going to stand here some more?" Wally asked, Donna giving him a soft but firm elbow to the side to shut him up. Artemis instructed her that she shouldn't be afraid to show the speedster some tough love from now and then. Donna took this as whenever Wally said something remotely snarky to hit him a little.

She would be hitting him a lot she figured.

Aqualad sighed, he couldn't keep this from them any longer, "James went to meet a contact with a mole with the League of Shadows. The assassin Cheshire." He explained, making the M'gann, Wally, and Artemis look at him with shock, Artemis especially considering her relation to the assassin. "He was due to report in, but I've yet to hear anything." He explained.

"He's got to be in trouble." Artemis said as she stepped forward, "We got to go rescue him." She said decisively.

Wally stepped forward as well, "She's right, we got to bail him out of this. Where was he supposed to meet?" he asked. Aqualad nodded in agreement as he pulled up the coordinates and pinpointed it on a map. "Gather at the Bioship we leave immediately."

The others nodded in agreement.

* * *

The Bioship flew close to the treetops while cloaked, they were closing in on the meeting point. "M'gann are you picking up James?" Aqualad asked, having asked the Martian to scan for their teammate's mind as they flew towards the point in case he fled for some reason.

"Not yet…. but there is something strange. I'm picking up…. well I can't exactly describe it. But it's just out of range." She explained as best she could. "It's like a mind but….it's blank." She simplified as the ship accelerated forward slightly.

Wally gave her a strange look, "What like they have amnesia?" he asked.

Miss. Martian shook her head, "No, not like that." She said, shaking her head. "There are two basic parts to the mind. The conscious and subconscious. Conscious is you when you are aware of what yourself, subconscious is the unaware part of your mind that's the opposite. Even if you lost your memories you would still have a subconscious mind. But I can't detect either from these minds." She explained.

"Then it's likely that they are the ones who have captured James." Donna pointed out, seeing that them being here was their explanation for James disappearing.

As the ship flew closer, Miss. Martian felt James's mind, _'James can you hear me?'_

 _'_ _M'gann? What-where are you?'_ he asked the Team.

 _'_ _Trying to find you! Where are you?'_ wally chimed in over the link.

Meanwhile with James, the tracker was laid up against the wall inside a semi truck's cargo container. _'I'm in a cargo container and I'm moving…..I'm also not exactly all alone in here.'_ He thought. The container was litteraly filled to the brim with assassins, they were all lined up in rows spanning the trailer. _'Look long story short, Cheshire stabbed me in the back and I was captured by undead assassins, same ones who took Laura.'_ He explained simply.

 _'_ _That means we don't need to pull our punches, right? We crash the truck and you get out.'_ Superboy surmised.

 _'_ _Yeah about that? My healing factor is shut off. I have an inhibitor collar, so before you decide to crash the truck just keep in mind that you might kill me.'_ He added, _'And even then they injected me with something, I can't even move.'_ He explained, the situation becoming clearer to his teammates. He could use his claws if he could move and use them to cut his collar off before he bleeds out, but it was catch twenty-two, to get the collar off he would need to move, and to move he would need the collar off for his healing factor to take care of his paralysis.

Aqualad cupped his chin in contemplation, "I think I may have an idea," He said as he mentally asked the ship to make a monitor for him, the floor reached up in front of him and formed a screen. Pulling up a map of the road he saw what he was looking for a few miles ahead. "Everyone, we're going to perform a extraction maneuver. M'gann I want you and Wonder Girl to fly down and carefully detach the container from the car. Use your telepathy and strength respectfully to keep the container in motion, then pull off the highway onto this side road." He said, indicating where on the map. "Kid Flash, take care of the truck driver as soon as they disconnect, we don't want them doing something rash. Then the rest of us with deal with the hostile forces." He explained.

The others nodded in his reasoning. After informing James of their plan, they sprang into action, the ship quickly caught up with the semi-truck. A hole opened on the floor of the ship, M'gann and Donna flew over the truck so the driver couldn't see them in the mirrors. The ship pulled back a few meters before Kid Flash dropped down and sped up behind he truck. Miss. Martian hovered down in between the cab and the container. _'I'm in position. Kid Flash, on your mark.'_

 _'_ _Got it babe.'_ Kid Flash thought before speeding around the side of the semi and quickly stepped up ont the side of the cab and opened the door. The driver was wearing a hoodie but when he turned, Kid saw him wearing a mask that he would see a ninja wear, Decking him in the face, the force behind the blow sent him into the passenger door and cracked the window. _'Got the Cab! And ahhh, please work quickly, I don't exactly have a license for this.'_ He said over the link.

Thankfully as soon as Wally ran past, the two ladies went to work, Donna flying down the side of the truck and underneath the flatbed while M'gann disconnected the cab from the container. Donna turned herself around so that her back was to the ground and pressed her hands into the underside of the container as gently as she could as mot to tip off the occupants.

Wonder girl had the strength of a dozen men, around the same as Superboy. She was more than grateful that this thing had wheels to take some of the weight. _'Donna you got the container?'_ James asked across the link.

 _'_ _Yes, I do, but just out of curiosity, how many enemies are in there? Because it feels like a lot.'_ She asked, wondering just how much she is carrying. James looked around the container, standing upright across the floor, there had to be around over forty of them. _'On second thought, never mind. Probably won't help with lifting this.'_ She thought as she maneuvered the container off the highway onto the side road.

'Driving' the container a mile down the abandoned road, Wonder Girl slowed her flying to a stop, dropping the leg down to keep the container upright, Donna flew out from under the box shaking her arms from stiffness. Landing at the doors of the container, the others gathered in wait around the trailer while Superboy readied to rip the doors off with Artemis behind him with her bow cocked.

 _'_ _Now.'_ Aqualad commanded from the roof of the container, Conner ripped the doors off their hinges and was immediately swarmed with the assassins. Artemis managed to fire off a single shot into the container. Cutting right through the Collar around James's neck before blocking a sword with her bow and spin-kicking the assassin away, Aqualad dropped down from the top of the container with his handles shaped as mallets and bashed them into the heads of two ninjas, as another jumped at him from the trailer he swung his water out in a whip and curled it around his leg and swing it into a pair that was ganging up on Artemis.

"Thanks!" she called out before taking out a trio of arrows and firing it at the targets she picked out from the container. The Team all backed up from the trailer, gaining some distance so they wouldn't be overrun. Kid Flash sped in from the road and knocked down an entire row of assassins before running over to Kaldur while Superboy burst out from a pile of the assassins.

"So, what did I miss? He asked as Donna, the Amazon blocked a Sai with her bracelet and punched them across the face before kicking her foot back into another. She then spun on her heel and downward punched another into the ground so hard green blood splattered onto the ground. Kid Flash could only stare, "Aside from Xena kicking butt?" he asked, watching her parry a sword away and choke slamming the assassin before taking the sword from the ground and slicing one across the chest.

Meanwhile in the trailer, the poison James had been infected with was being purged from his body, his healing factor was back and he could now move. As he begunto push himself up off the floor, a trench knife was plunged into his back, James grit his teeth. His eyes began to change color, his rage was leaking out, _NO. Keep the animal in. Do. Not. Loose. Control._ He thought as he took a aggressive breath through his nose and let it out through his teeth.

He quickly popped his claws and sliced the assassin up the gut to his ribcage, pushing him off his claws he reached back with his free hand to pull the knife out. James looked at the doors leading outside where his friends were fighting, he shakily stood up, started to limp towards the way out towards the exit. A few meters away his limp began a run and sprint towards the exit. Leaping out from the truck, he unsheathed all his claws at once.

He took the faces of two of the ninjas off with his foot laws as he plunged the ones in his hands into the backs of two more, landing on the ground, on of them jumped towards him with his sword raised over his head, he jabbed his right claws up to his worst, stopping the blade as he plunged his other claws into his gut. Pulling away he felt someone behind him, he recognized the smell of fruit, he glanced back to see Wonder Girl lock blades with an assassin.

James spun around and jammed his claws into the side of her assassin's head, swung his arm away he threw the hostile off his claws into a tree. He turned his head to see Donna with a smirk as she threw the katanna into another while Conner tore another apart with his bare hands, green dust pouring from their opponents. "This is very cathartic." She commented as the remaining dozen regrouped and chared towards her, Superboy and James.

However the twelve avoided the two powerhouses and went straight for James, the tracker backed up as he parried a few blades with his claws, "Get off him!" Conner yelled before making a grab for one but nearly getting a sword to the eyes.

"Get back! Everyone get back!" he called out as he cut the arm of one but was stabbed in his side as retaliation, before he knew it they were on top of him, tearing into him with their weapons. _Keep it in!_ he thought before a knife was plunged into his chest. James was trying his hardest to keep his berserker in but he was failing. James felt the barrier cracking, _You know what? FUCK IT!_ He thought as he let the berserker out, his eyes flashing red.

"RRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGAAAAA!" James roared out as he swung his arms out wide, slicing off the limbs of three of the assailants.

His teammates stopped in their tracks, "Oh crap!" Wally cried out as James sliced off both the arms of one of the assassins and kicked him with his foot claws and then plunging his had claws respectively into the gut of another.

While the others were somewhat used to the savagery by now and felt no guilt for the already deceased assassins demise, Donna was the exception. "What…what's wrong with him?" she asked as James cut the neck of one before plunging his other blades into the base of their skull for good measure.

M'gann floated over, a sorrow look on her face, "It's his berserker state…when he gets too angry he looses control and….well." she trailed off as James finished off the last of his kidnappers. "He looses control." She finished.

Donna saw him lock eyes with her, gone where the friendly brown eyes, now they were red, enraged, and looking for it's next kill. "Easy buddy, you got them all." Kid Flash said calmly as he walked forward, the feral tracker turned and growled at him. The speedster gluped.

"I am not a dog Wallace." James said as he began to relax, his body was covered in cut, some shallow and some deep, his shirt was splattered with red and green blood. "Just…..give me a minute." He said as he fell back onto his rear and took a minute to recover. The others took a sigh of relief, walking over to him they all waited while he healed, "Ok….so did anyone grab a sample of these guys by chance before I…..did that?" he asked.

Kid Flash grinned, "Well we do happen t have one tied up in the cab of the truck, that will satisfy bats right?" he asked the others.

James nodded, but wasn't convinced, "So do you want to tell us why you thought it was a clever idea to meet Cheshire of all people alone and without any backup?" Artemis asked, she was glad to see him safe but she was still going to tear into him a little bit for not telling them about this.

James frowned, "It was stupid of me and I got what I deserved. But I did learn that these guys are after me." He said, gesturing to one of the assassins. "First Laura, now me. I don't know who these guys are but this shit stops now." He said as he got up, "Where's the one that we captured?" he asked, Wally lead the others back to where he cuffed the assassin to the side of the cab further down the side road. As they walked around the side, they only found a severed hand with the cuff still chained to the exaust tube streachin up over the cab.

"Um…yeah I swear he was here." KF said honestly as James took the hand off the handcuff. And handing it to the speedster, "Oh come on do I have to carry it? Make the rookie do it." he said as he pointed to Donna. Folding her arms over her chest she glared at him, he took the hand before he could get hit again, "What about the guy?"

James looked at Wonder Girl, "You up for more?" he asked, the amazon smirked before nodding. "Me and Donna will track him down, get the hand back as a sample to analyze it." He said, Kaldur nodded in agreement, joking a sniff of the air James took off with Donna flying behind him deeper into the forest while the others made their way towards the bioship to get the hand in a sterile environment before it decomposes.

James led Donna through the forest, jumping over a fallen tree and sliding down a hill, looking around he saw a piece of black string caught on tree bark. Walking over he saw caught onto the scent, Donna landed quietly on the ground behind him, observing him as he kneeled down, "Did we lose him?" she asked.

"Donna I can track a someone across the country if I dedicate myself to it. We didn't lose him." He said as he stood up, "In fact he's right above us." He said, Donna snapped her head up to see the assassin was indeed hiding in the tree, before he could escape, she threw her lasso around him and yanked him down to the ground. Laying him up against the tree, James noticed the lasso was glowing slightly blue. "Is that a lasso of truth by chance?" he asked.

"Not exactly." Donna said before turning her attention to the assassin, tightening her lasso's grip on him, "You want to tell us something, don't you?" she asked. While Wonder Woman had her Lasso of Truth, her's was Persuasion. As long as her will was stronger by those she ensnared she could convince them to do whatever she wished, "Tell us what you know." She said, her lasso glowing slightly brighter.

" _Anata wa rōgan no meiyo aru shi no musuko to shite shinudeshou. Watashitachi no shujin wa sore ni kidzukudeshou_." He said, making the two heroes blink in confusion.

"Umm….do you know what he's saying?" James asked.

"No not at all." Donna replied, not counting on the ninja speak another language.

James glared at the assassin, "Look, this is going to go one of two ways, either you speak fucking English or I start taking….I start….I'll….." he trailed off, realizing that he couldn't threaten him by cutting parts off since he clearly can survive without limbs. "I'll just do this." He said before yanking off his mask.

Under the mask was a man, he looked Asian, but his pale skin and fully green eyes showed that he was no longer among the living. But on is forehead was a strange symbol that was reminiscent of a Japanese gate, better known as a Torii, burned onto his forehead. " _Uruvu~arin, chichioya no tsumi de kurushimimasu_." The assassin said before the burn on his forehead began to glow green and the man burst into green smoke, making th two recoil back.

James and Donna looked at one another questionably, what the hell did that mean?

* * *

 **September 25** **th** **2010, 7:00pm. Mount Justice.**

"From what we've could gather, the assassins are revived the same way that Ra's Al Ghul is, the Lazarus Pit." Batman explained, standing in front of the glass case containing the hand, Laura was beside the case, reading what the findings were. The team that rescued James was present as well, "But it's as though the pit itself is faulty, obviously, Ra's doesn't decompose as quickly as these people. There's also a chemical imbalance, the only way to stabilize it is repeated treatments to the pit itself. Otherwise they deteriorate like you witnessed."

James looked at the hand, "But why are these guys after me and Laura? I never even met these people before they took you." He asked as he looked at the female clone, Laura walked over with a frown.

"I don't know, but until we take care of these guys-" she started.

"if you say I should keep my head low I swear to god I will blatantly disregard it." James interrupted, "I'm tired of these ass hats coming after you and me, I say we find out where they are and stop this on our terms." He stated adamantly, he was tired of hiding from whoever these people where.

Laura gave him a surprised look, "Either way we need to identify them." Batman said before Laura could respond.

Donna reached over and took the clipboard and pencil out of Laura's hands, "Well the one that me and James captured has this strange symbol on his forehead. It might be a lead." She said as she drew a rough sketch of the symbol that they saw. Showing it to the pair, Batman's eyes narrowed as aura's face paled slightly. "What?" Wonder Girl asked curiously.

"That's the Yashida corporation logo." Laura explained.

James's eyes widened, "Isn't that like a tech corporation in Japan?" Wally asked.

"Yes. It's also the company that James's birth mother owned." Batman answered, "Before she owned it, her father Shingen Yashida was CEO. His company at the time had connections to the Yakuza and the League of Shadows. He was killed by the original Wolverine." He explained further, making the others look at James while the young man looked at the symbol with sadness. "Since Mariko's death, the company has been run by a board of directors, but the fact that this assassin had the symbol branded on the forehead points to the company being at least involved."

James looked up at the caped crusader, "So then it's probable that they're the ones who arranged Laura's kidnapping, meaning that Kimura might be the one behind all this." He reasoned, Laura's hands clenching at the mention.

"Yes. Regardless, this is all speculation. We need confirmation." He said before walking away towards the exit with X-23. As they left, Laura and James shared a look, they would talk later. Leaving the team alone in the room, donna was the first to speak.

"Are you ok?" she asked James, wondering how he was taking all this.

"You mean the fact that after getting backstabbed, losing control of myself, and then learning that someone from my mother's company might be involved with all this?" he asked, looking over at Donna. The amazon gave him a look of sympathy, ignoring the sarcasm in his voice, "…..it's been a long day." He admitted.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, "You know we will stand wih you my friend." Kaldur said sincerely.

"Yeah man, we got your back." Wally added, "Although we do have Wolf now so-" Superboy elbowed him. "Joking!"

M'gann simply gave him a hug, "We're teammates, least we can do." She said with a bright smile that made James mirror it.

Superboy gave his friend a small smile and nodded, James smiled back, Artemis however was the quietest of them. She suspected James might have known her family when they first met, however now he HAD to know. James looked over and gave her a small smile and nod, she could only nod back. "Now if I recall correctly we had a rematch." Donna said, grabbing James's arm and pulling him towards the exit.

"Oh I am so watching this." Wally said with a smirk.

* * *

Sparring with Donna again had been just as productive as the first time, only this time he managed to throw her out of the ring barely, her toe just touching the outside of the ring as she recovered in flight. The tracker opened the door to his room, finding Laura sitting on the bed holding the mask of his costume, "You know, you sounded like him today." She said with a small smile, "Telling me that we were going to take the fight to these Yashida clowns."

James rubbed the back of his head, "Sorry."

"Don't be…..you're right." She said as she set the mask down and clasped her hands together in her lap. "When we first met…..I kept thinking of how to make sure you didn't turn out like me or Logan. As weapons." She explained as James walked over to the desk in the corner of his room and pulled his chair out to sit in.

"Yeah I know." He said lowly, "Laura….I get why you wanted to. Logan probably never wanted this life for me….but hiding me away isn't going to solve a damn thing." Laura nodded in understanding. "But before I can do any of that, in need to control that side of me." He pointed out, recalling how he let himself loose earlier today.

Laura frowned, "Your Berserker." She said, James nodding at the name. He had heard about how his father would become enraged and take on squads of enemies on his own despite whatever wounds he sustained.

"I tried controlling it today and I did for a while but I just…..I couldn't hold it back anymore. How do I stop this?" he asked, wanting to know how to control himself better.

"You can't." Laura said plainly.

"What?!" James asked loudly.

"Look you can't just lock it up or anything, you HAVE to control it when it comes out." She explained, James frowned ad he looked down at his hands, Laura kicked him lightly, "Hey don't pout, I will help you. It's hard now but with time? You could walk around with a pebble in your shoe all day and you'll not go berserker." She said reassuringly, making James smirk.

"Thanks Laura." He said gratefully.

"No problem." She said before smirking, 'And aren't you glad I told you not to trust that bitch?"

"I am not going to hear the end of this for a while am I?" he asked, realizing that Laura was going to lord this over him for a while.

"No. You're not." She replied.

* * *

 **Unknown location**

Kimura leaned against he doorway to the room, "I got word back. Logan's kid escaped the trap." She said, looking out the window to the twinking lights of the city miles away. "Should I contact the Shadows and call the deal off?" she asked.

"No. We keep our word, send a two dozen of the men to Ra's." he said as he dressed behind the panel, showing only his shadow. "I am curious as to how he managed escape, without his healing factor, he shouldn't have bee able to move." He said, wondering how his containment plan had failed.

"Apparently, he has friends. From what I gather some sort of mini Justice League backing him up." Kimura explained, walking across the room and stopping in front of the screen.

"hmmm, so he has allies."

Kimura smirked, "Do you want me to kill them? Get him good and mad enough to come here to us?" she asked.

"No. Our goal is the boy." He said as he stepped out from behind the screen, he wore a green kimono with a yellow sash tied around his waist with the Yashida family seal on the back, he was Japanese in nationality and had a bald head, "I will purge that Gaijin taint from my bloodline." Shingen Yashida said with conviction in his voice.

* * *

 **AN: So what did you think?**


	12. Chapter 12 Revelation

Revelation

 **October 1** **st** **2010, 6:00pm. Mount Justice**

In the days following his attempted kidnapping, James and Laura went on a strict regimen of training from Laura. It was a mix of combat and meditation, with he and Laura fighting until he was on the verge of going berserk and then they would calm himself down from the brink. On the plus side due to his healing factor he wasn't exhausted after every session, and his physique had been improving as well.

It was like working up his tolerance, and he was slowly building up both his resistance to his rage and his fighting skills, today they were taking a break from their routine and was doing some more traditional training with his team members.

He, Robin, and Aqualad were in a three-way spar, as to simulate fighting against multiple opponents while Donna, Captain Marvel, and Zatara watching. James blocked a punch from Kaldur, the Atlantean fallowed up with another strike aimed at James's face, the leaned back and kicked his foot out into Kaldur's abdomen, making him stumble back as Robin ran behind and leapt over the leader at James. He crossed his arms to block the kick, Robin kicked off and landed on the ground and charged at James.

The boy wonder tried to palm strike his chin, James grabbed his hand at the wrist and stepped around Robin, locking hi arm behind his back, "Ngh, not bad." Robin said before Kaldur came up from behind James. The tracker heard him coming and threw Robin into him, Kaldur caught his friend out of instinct, James rushed forward and shoed hos open palm into them, knocking the both of them off balance and both fell to the ground. "Robin rubbed the point where James got him, the victor reached his hands down for the two, lifting them both up, "That's some improvement in a week." The boy wonder complimented.

James smiled, "Thank Laura, she's been training me like a dog." He explained, while her training was clearly effective he did have to dedicate himself to it for hours of the days.

"I am glad to see you learning to control your anger my friend. " Kaldur said, patting James on the shoulder, the feral tracker smiled, the team had been supportive of him every step of the way in his training. When he returned to the cave, clothes bloody from a hard day's work, they didn't judge him, they asked how it went and helped him hone his skills.

Like Canary had observed, his healing factor was a double edged sword, he could keep fighting for a long time but depending on what wounds he sustained he could be taken out of the fight. So he was trained to not charge in and tank damage, but to fight instinctively and tactically , and deal with what damage he sustained. It was rough going, but he was well on his way.

Donna walked over to them, "That was good, next time we'll do James and Kaldur against Robin." She said, pulling up a holo computer and disengaging the training simulation. Wonder Girl had become sort of the arms master of the team, being raised by warriors she had been raised with training regiments, so she was a sort of assistant to Black Canary. "You did good James, but I think you need to work on defense more, you can't just stand there, you got to move some more." She advised, James nodding in acknowledgment. Donna caught Robin nudge Kaldur and gesture to the room entrance where Superboy, Miss Martian, and Wolf were entering the room. What are they talking about?" she asked James quietly.

The Tracker heard what they were talking about and turned his attention back to Donna, he had promised Conner and M'gann that he wouldn't divulge their relationship, however he felt like Donna was at a disadvantage here, not being able to recognize the signs. "Well…..Conner and M'gann are….together." he explained.

"Well obviously, they just walked in with one another." Donna said, James was about to correct his description when he saw the mirth in her eyes, he smirked at her, "I might be from an island of women but I'm not entirely clueless." She explained jokingly as James crossed his arms and chuckled while Artemis and Wally entered the room.

"They want it to be private though so don't confront them about it?" he asked of her, Donna nodded, understanding the want of privacy for their relationship.

The Zeta Tube hummed awake as the lights inside shined brightly, the computer announcing the arrival of Batman, "Computer, national news." He commanded, the computer pulling up a screen showing a news report of giant plants attacking Metropolis with Superman and various members of the Justice League defending the city from the giant vines.

"Should we get out there?" Robin asked.

Batman turned away from the screen to the team, "No, the League will soon have the situation under control that's not why I'm here." He said before pulling up a smaller screen of Sportsmaster, "According to your intel, Sportsmaster supplied Cadmus' Blockbuster Formula to Cobra." He began.

"Who combined it with Bane's Venom to make Cobra Venom." Wally picked up.

"Which the brain used to create his animal army." Robin added as well.

James rubbed his neck, "Not to mention the inhibitor collars that are used at Belle Reeve. Which our Yashida ninjas had as well." He pointed out.

"Batman, is it possible that plant thingy's on Kobra Venom too?" Artemis asked, beginning to see a connection.

"I had Green Lantern run a spot analysis. Divine cellulous contains a trace amount of Cobra Venom variant." The Batman explained as he used a keyboard to bring up the cellular structure of the plant.

"These cannot be coincidences; unrelated criminals are cooperating with one another worldwide." Aqualad said as he spoke for the team. It was far beyond the realm of circumstance for these missions to be related to one another.

"Exactly. It's clear our enemies have formed some kind of…. secret society for Super-Villains. The attack on metropolis is only the beginning." The Dark Knight stated.

The idea of some sort of counter to the Justice League was a thought that had crossed many of the members minds, if they working together are able to combat crime on a global scale then a anti League would be counterproductive to that, not to mention it would mean that the League in of itself was a problem if it invited cooperation between villains.

James frowned as Robin pulled up more screens showing similar attacks happening across the world, suddenly the feed was cut with static, "Dude!" Wally said.

"It's not me, someone's cutting into the satellite. All satellite signals!" The boy wonder said in shock before the screens came back online, instead of the plants attacking cities, a man with a white face, red lipstick, green hair, and a purple suit came on, his smile creeped James out.

He tapped against the glass of the camera, _"Ladies and gentlemen. We interrupt your regularly scheduled mayhem to bring you this, important announcement. "_ the Joker said to the camera as he pulled out a switchblade and pointed the camera off to the side. Standing were six supervillains, Black Adam, Count Vertigo, Atomic Skull, Poison Ivy, Wotan, and the Ultrahumanite, _"From the Injustice League, hehehehe."_ He chuckled.

Count Vertigo spoke, "We are responsible for the attacks on your cities. If you wish to save them, a ransom of ten billion American dollars is required. Delivery instructions have been sent to the United Nations. There is no time limit. But, the longer your governments wait- "he trailed off as Joker finished the threat of destruction and ending it with a laugh.

As Batman called Aquaman on Coms to arrange a ransom as a fallback, Robin rewound the recording, "Seven heavy hitters, probably behind everything and everyone we've faced." The boy wonder deduced.

Donna looked skeptical, "But they spend all this time manipulating events behind the scenes, and they come out of hiding and ask for money? Isn't that strange to anyone else?" the Amazonian asked, war strategy with espionage was to not tip your hand unless you knew without a shadow of a doubt you would be victorious. And even then, that was considered foolhardy.

"Perhaps after India, they realized the truth and saw no point in hiding any longer." Aqualad suggested, James nodded at that reasoning. What was the point of hiding something that was going to be found out soon enough?

"Yeah? That was their mistake, right now I say we go and kick some plant creature ass." Kid Flash said excitedly as he hit his fist against his palm.

"The Justice League will handle the plants. I have a different assignment for this team." Batman said, causing Wally to deflate.

"Aw man." The speedster groaned quietly before Artemis hit his shoulder.

Batman continued, "With the plants attacking so many locations at once, there must be a central control station. Your mission is to destroy it." He explained as Zatara stepped towards the back, a concerned look in his face.

"You realize what you're really asking them to do?" he asked.

Batman nodded, "They're ready." He said, making the team look at the caped crusader in shock as the real objective of the mission dawned on most of them, except for Wally who simply looked confused.

"Ready? Ready for what?" he asked before Artemis hit him again, "Ow! Will you cut that- "he started.

"Hello Wally, if the big guns are fighting the plants. Who do you think we'll be fighting?" she asked the obvious question as James put his hand up to his face.

"I don't know! I guess we'll- "he started clueless before James grabbed the top of his head and turned it towards the screen with the Injustice League. "Ooooooohhhh." He whispered in realization.

"Seriously for the fastest kid alive you are so slow sometimes it's concerning." James said to the speedster. Robin summoned a holo map of the world as Zatara stepped forwards, chanting a sentence in reverse he cast a spell to show the location of the Injustice League's location. A map marker lit up in the southern United States.

"Coordinates locked, the Louisiana Bayou." Robin said.

"Then we are on our way." Kaldur said, making the team run off to get changed for the mission. James entered his room and quickly changed into his suit, switching it to stealth mode before exiting his room and making his way towards the hanger. As he made his way there though he noticed the door to the trophy room was open, walking inside, he looked at the shelves lined with memorabilia from their missions, including the mask from the assassin he fought.

He saw Kaldur looking at the Helmet of Fate with a duffle. He noticed James's presence and turned to look at him, "…. if all else fails…. we will need a backup plan." He said solemnly.

James walked over and looked at the golden helm, he knew that the Helmet is what turned someone into doctor fate, but Wally had explained that the Helm had a mind of its own and would force a host to wear it if it deemed it necessary. He looked at Kaldur, "Plan B then." He said, the Atlantean nodding in agreement before reaching out and picking up the helmet and setting it down in the duffle and zipping it closed.

* * *

 **October 1** **st** **2010, 6:50 pm. Bayou Bartholomew**

It took the ship about an hour to reach Louisiana, most of the trip the cockpit was dead silent. James unsheathed and inspected his claws for what had to be the fifth time. He wasn't the only one nervous, he could smell it on the others, but he reasoned that as soon as the command base was destroyed that they would get some backup once they completed the mission.

He sheathed his claws, "Ugh." Miss Martian groaned slightly as she put a hand against her head.

"You alright?" Superboy asked with concern.

"Dizzy." M'gann answered, making the others look at each other.

Robin asked, "Martians get airsick?" he asked curiously, not having seen M'gann suffer dizziness from their other missions.

"She is looking a bit greener than usual." Wally joked lightly.

Miss Martian shook her head, "Not me, her." She clarified. Donna and Artemis gave each other a curious look, not sure which of them M'gann was referring to but they both seemed normal. "Not you two, the ship. She's trying to shield us but- "she stopped as the ship suddenly rolled violently, making the team grip their seats for safety.

"Ugh! Man, I shouldn't have eaten on the way here!" Wally said loudly as he covered his mouth. The ship suddenly regained a level altitude, "Better, much better." The Speedster said, none of them noticing the ship had been uncloaked. Something hit the hull of the ship hard knocking them out of the air and sending them crashing down towards the water. The ship skipped across the water like a thrown pebble before coming to a stop.

The occupants inside were more than a little shaken, "Can we not go on that ride again?" James asked as he gripped the sides of his skull, trying to make things stop spinning. Suddenly vines emerged from the water and began to pull the ship deeper into the murky depths. James the others unbuckled from their seats as a hole in the roof was ripped open, Black Adam ripping the biomass open.

"Miss Martian clutched her head, "Argh! He's hurting her!" She exclaimed, Superboy leaping up to the hole and punching Black Adam away from the ship. However, water began to pour into the ship from the hole, the ship was beginning to flood.

"Miss. Martian either open up a hole for us to swim out r I'm cutting one out!" James called out as the water rose just past his boots. M'gann nodded before making a set of gills on the sides of her neck and diving under the water, opening a hole for them to swim to. Wolverine swam out and looked back to see the vines pull at the ship, Kaldur noticed James was struggling so he swam back and helped his Teammate to shore.

 _'_ _Thanks man.'_ He thought gratefully, Aqualad nodding as the team walked onto shore. Wolf shook the water from his fur before proceeding onto the marshland. Circling around the swamp, the team watched as the Bioship was pulled beneath the water.

"She's in shock, she'll need time to recover." M'gann explained aloud before all of them were overcome with a wave of vertigo, making them fall over. Conner tried to get up but Black Adam punched him across the ground. Aqualad managed to get up and used his water handles to summon a spurt of water crashing into Vertigo.

 _'_ _Robin, Miss. Martian disappear, we will keep them busy. You two fulfill the mission objective,'_ Aqualad ordered, the Martian going into her cloaked form Robin slipped into the surrounding brush. Wolverine got up off the ground and headed for Adam along with Wolf, the man threw the wolf at the metahuman. Wolverine rolled under wolf and unsheathed his claws and slashed them up at Back Adam.

The man didn't move, not thinking the claws would hurt, he was wrong.

The blades sliced shallow cuts into the man, he yelled out in pain and glared at Wolverine, "Bring it elf." He dared. Adam threw a punch that Wolverine tried to block, his feet dragged across the ground as the tendons in his arm was crushed, _move more, right!_ he thought as he remembered Donna's advice. He ducked under the next left hook and slashed Black Adam's side, making him recoil as James drew his elbow back into the back of his head.

James retracted his claws and punched the man in the face as he tried to up, however it barely affected him and he grabbed the young man by the neck and slammed him onto the ground repeatedly before throwing him aside into Kid Flash as he tried to run up on him. James and the Speedster both tried to get u but a wave of Vertigo passed over the both of them. Black Adam loomed over them, picking James up by his sui, he reeled his first back ready to strike before a silver boot kicked him in the face.

James dropped to the ground and saw Donna fly at Black Adam, ducking under a jab and grabbing the limb with both hands before slamming him into the ground. Superboy landed on him from above, cratering the ground. It was six on two, Aqualad and Artemis were both keeping Vertigo at a distance, making him take cover with Arrows and hard shots of Water. Helping Kid Flash up, Wolverine looked between their options, "Your choice man, Adam or Vertigo?" he asked the speedster.

Taking a second to think it over, he zoomed over towards Vertigo, Wolverine turned his attention towards Black Adam as he heard Wolf growl beside him, "Go for the legs boy." He instructed, the hound growled before sprinting at Black Adam, circling around and biting him in his calf, making him yell out in pain. Donna used this opportunity to grab her lasso and flew around him at top speed, wrapping it up around him and tightening it so he couldn't break free. "Superboy! Wolverine! Now!" she yelled, Adam looked back from her to see both the boy of steel and feral metahuman uppercut him and trip back over Wolf.

Wolverine put his foot on his chest and popped his foot claws out just under his chin, "Now you stay right there ok?" he asked.

Just before he was pulled up and flung into the air, as he went flying he caught sight of Wotan waving at him with a pleased look on his face. James was coming back down to earth fast, he saw what as below him, it looked like a huge glass dome with a huge tree breaking through the top. Breaking through the glass roof he landed on the ground with a loud thud.

Wolverine was still for a few moments, "Well, well, well. Lookie what our associates sent us." James recognized the voice as the Joker, he was rolled over onto his back. Joker bent his knees on either side of the young man, "Huh, well the colors make me think batsy, the ears too, but the lack of rodent on your outfit makes me think otherwise." He said as he rubbed his chin in contemplation. "Plus, your alive, Bat has a less tough crowd, so who are you?" he asked as he pulled out his switchblade.

He felt blood leak out the corner of his mouth, "Fuck you pennywise." Wolverine spat out, Joker laughed at that.

"HAHAHAHA! Your definitely not with Bat's crowd." He said before jamming his blade into the metahuman's shoulder.

James grinned, "Three words. Healing factor Jackass." He said before headbutting Joker off him, standing up from the ground he yanked the blade out of his shoulder and unsheathing his claws.

Joker was still grinning, "Two things, that's five words. And second, Skull old buddy, if you would?" he asked, James felt something burn his back. He growled in pain as he turned around to see the Atomic Skull on a platform providing energy to the facility. The flesh on his back. "If you would kindly take a moment to take care of this pest?" Joker asked, the Atomic Skull hopped down from his platform and a burst of atomic energy fired from his head at James's chest, sending him flying across the room.

He hit the wall and slid down the side, leaving a bloody streak, his ribcage was exposed and the torso and back of his costume was gone. "Great, there goes another one." He muttered before rolling out of the way of another blast. Springing across the room and away from the Skull's blasts, he dove over the edge of the platform and into the roots of the giant plant where the Skull stopped his attack.

 _Huh? Wait, he won't shoot at me when I'm near the roots._ Wolverine noticed as he stopped, Atomic Skull blasted at him again, James ducked and the blast barely missed the roots. James charged at Joker as he got back to operating the plants and kneed him in the chin, knocking him off the podium, turning back to the Atomic Skull as he reeled his head back about to fire. Thinking quickly, James raised his claws in a X shape where he approximated where the blast would hit him. He beam connected with his claws and reflected back at the villain, knocking him off the platform.

"Holy crap that actually worked." Wolverine muttered in astonishment before he was stabbed in the back with another knife, he turned his head to see the Joker pulling out another switch bade, reaching back with his hand he extended his claws that barely touched Joker's jugular.

Joker was grinning like a madman, "Well what are you waiting for? A permission slip?" he asked.

"….dude you are fucked up." James said simply before turning completely and punching Joker across the face and into one of the screens of the cities under attack. He didn't hear Atomic Skull getting back up but he heard him breathing, _'Wolverine here, two are down, Joker and Atomic Skull. Robin, Miss. Martian, how's the sabotage going?'_ he asked through the mental link.

 _'_ _Just about done, but the others are dealing with Ivy, Wotan, Black Adam, Ultrahumanite, and Vertigo. We still need a little more time. Go back them up.'_ Robin advised, James nodded to himself before running for the exit. He found his way outside by fallowing the scents, as he exited the building Kid Flash ran over to him, seeking cover in the doorway as the white ape's grenade launcher fired off after him.

James took cover beside him as the explosions rang outside, "Hey dude. You ok? You got thrown pretty far." The speedster observed, making the tracker shrug.

"I'm good, managed to take down Joker and Skull." He said before he was cut off by another explosion, taking a close listen, James could hear the gorilla's breathing from the trees outside. "He's got the high ground, I'll run interference and you bring him down." He said, the speedster nodded.

James backed down the hall and sprinted out, running across the muddy water, plumes of water shot up as explosions trailed behind him. As he ran, Kid Flash scanned the trees with his goggles, seeing the Ultrahumanite's heat sig, he sprinted out at super speed towards the tree he was camped up in. Turing onto the branch, Kid Flash slid into the ape's legs, knocking it off balance and causing him to fall to the ground.

Just as he began picking himself up, Kid Flash landed on his face, knocking the gorilla out, "Oh yeah! Kid Flash one, gorilla bad guys zero!" he whooped out. He nearly stumbled when the vibrations form the explosions overhead made him stumble, he looked up and watched as the main tree toppled over and fell down, he could just see M'gann and Robin standing at the base of the stump.

However, this victory was short lived as the team was pinned to the ground by lighting from Wotan shortly after, James was pinned against the ground, as was the others. Donna however was using her bracelets to absorb the energy, she flew up to the sorcerer and landed a hard left cross across his face, breaking the spell. James got up beside Wally, "Ok, that could have been bad." He said aloud before Black Adam flew in and hit him off his feet into a tree, the sound of a crack making Wolverine look and growl at Black Adam a he flew up towards Donna.

He looked over to Superboy, "Supes!" Conner turned to look at him, "Fastball Special!"

Superboy grinned before running over to his friend, Wolverine jumped over to him, Conner caught him one handed on his abdomen, aiming at Black Adam, Superboy reeled his arm back and threw with all his might. Like the name implied, James shot at the flyer like a fastball, popping his claws he let out a roar as he soared through the air, Black Adam turned in time to have six knives embed into his shoulders, making him yell out as they flew past donna and hit the side of the Injustice League's base.

James landed on his feet while Adam hit the ground. Grabbing him by the cloth of his suit, James pointed one of his clawed hands at his face. The back of his mind wanted to jam the claws in through his eyes and kill him, he raised his claws back as his eyes turned red. Just as he was about to embed the blades into his skull, he froze, _No._ he thought.

Instead, he held the claw close to Black Adam's face before retracting them, "Don't. Hurt. My. Friends." He growled out before headbutting him, his adamantium laced skull ringing from the impact.

Superboy leapt over and downward punched Adam to finish him off for now, "Nice! Told you it would work." He said, looking over to James as he rubbed his head. They had been working on that move in secret for a while. Conner came up with it but only recently came to James with the idea, in fact that was their third attempt at it, the first two ending up with Conner ripping James's costume and the other with James skidding along the ground when Conner threw underhand.

Meanwhile, Artemis fired a concussive arrow at Count Vertigo, the count however used his headgear to throw her off, the arrow falling short of its target. The arrow mage an explosion of water splash upwards. Vertigo raise his arm to cover his eyes, as he did though, Kid Flash ran by and tore off a part of his cloak before running behind a tree for cover. Just as he turned to where the speedster ran off, he saw Artemis midarm swinging her leg into the side of his face.

Kid Flash was gritting his teeth in pain, his arm was broken. Artemis ran around the side of the tree and took the shred of cloth, "Hey that's my souvenir!" he complained as she fixed it around his arm and made a sling for his broken arm. "Oh….um…thanks." he said bashfully after realizing what she was doing.

"Hey guys, bye guys!" Robin greeted as he leapt overhead, the pair looked behind them to see several large vines coming after the boy wonder, the pair split p as the vines tore through the jungle. Robin fired a grappling line up to the trees and out of the way of the vines.

Above, Donna was blocking Wotan's magic with her silver bracelets. "Your blessed gauntlets will not protect you forever!" Wotan declared as he made a barrage of black oval shaped projectiles fire at her. Donna's hands waved around blocking each bolt of magic, she retreated back towards the ground to get distance.

"As long as I still stand, you won't win Wotan!" the Amazon called out in challenge, but she was being overwhelmed. James saw she was in trouble and unsheathed his claws, running over he did the same thing he did with Atomic Skull, he slashed at the orbs, deflecting them away and taking some of the pressure off Wonder Girl.

"Ah, two for the price of one." Wotan said cheerfully said before a backwards incantation was heard and he was blasted down to the ground. Looking up, James and Donna saw that their reinforcements had arrived in the form of the Justice League, Zatara having cast a binding spell at Wotan. The league surrounded the remaining villains, Vertigo looked around at the situation before looking at his comrades, he raised his hands above his head.

"There will be another day." He said in consent, knowing that they wouldn't win this battle.

"Another day?" the group turned to see Joker stumble out of the base towards the heroes, "Another day!? There won't be another day! HAHAHAHAHA!" he howled in laughter as he raised his hands, his gloves glowing on the palms, a second later vines spouted from the water, spores popping on the sides of them and green gas pouring out of them.

"Joker venom spores! Don't Breathe!" Batman shouted out, rushing towards Joker and landing a haymaker on the side of his face, knocking him into the water. The teams did as he said, holding their breath while Superman flew up into the air and took a deep breath before blowing it downward, blowing the gas away into the surrounding swamplands.

The next half hour was spent rounding up the prisoners, decommissioning their base, and taking samples of the vines. The cities that were attacked still had plants that needed to be removed so most of the heavy hitters went to deal with that. Meanwhile, James was looking over Wally's arm, "Well it's broken, but your healing already. At this rate, you'll probably be healed in a few weeks, until then just take it easy." He instructed as he readjusted the sling on the speedster's arm.

"Glad to hear…..um, dude do out want a shirt?" Wally asked, gesturing to the state of undress. James's muscles on his chest, arms, and abdomen were visible for all to see. His training over the years having shaped him as he was now, however he also had no shame in people seeing him in such states.

So he simply shrugged, "I'm good…..just tell me if I get ay leeches." He asked, the speedster giving him the 'ok' with his unbroken arm.

Batman approached the team with Zatara, Captain Marvel, and Aquaman behind him, "We're done here. The super villain secret society has been neutralized." He stated, "As for your performance…" there was a pause in his speech, the team waited on baited breath on his judgement, "…it was satisfactory." He finished, making the team breath a collective sigh of relief.

* * *

 **October 1** **st** **7:47 pm 2010. Mount Justice**

The Team dropped Kid Flash off at Central City with the Flash to have his arm looked at and casted before heading back to the cave. Exiting the bioship, Robin went to the Zeta tube and waved farewell to the others as the tube beamed him to the bat cave, the mud-covered superheroes walked through the base to the second floor of the base where the showers and locker room were located. The showers were one large square with expanding walls for privacy. The team drew straws to determine the order, James drew last but didn't mind.

He and wolf stayed in the lounge, watching TV as the news covered the cleanup of the vine remains. It would take a few days but progress was already seen in Metropolis. James petted wolf's back as he laid down on the floor in front of him, he got comfortable on the couch, he soon found himself drifting on the edge of sleep, that was until someone shook him awake, "James?" opening his arms he saw Donna standing in front of him. In nothing but a robe.

"D-Donna!" his voice cracked as he suddenly sat upright, making the Amazon chuckle at his reaction. He tried to look anywhere else than her creamy white legs, or her still drying hair. But it was hard not to, but he was managing. He also didn't try to look at the peak of cleavage, or the beads of water sliding down her neck- _Stop. Remember how this turned out last time jackass?_ He thought to himself.

"Oh relax, I came to tell you the showers are free." She said, taking a seat on the couch beside him, James ran his hands down his face. Donna noticed the tired look on his face, "Are you ok?" she asked.

He nodded, "Yeah…just ahhh…between Laura's training and today I'm just tired." He explained, Donna stayed silent, thinking back to when she saw him loose control for the first time. James pulled his hands away from his face, "I'm sorry you saw me like that…. I'm sorry anyone had to see me like that." He added in a mutter.

"…. when was the first time you…." She trailed off, not sure how to phrase it.

James sighed, "I was up north in Canada. The team was helping evacuate a town while I fought this…. monster. The Wendigo, the thing ate people and found this community, used it like a feeding ground. It could heal kind of like I do, it was bigger than I am, but we were just tearing into one another like animals so it didn't really matter." He started before taking a breath, "It had been pinned under a telephone pole and as heading for the others….and I snapped. I just saw red and…next thing I know I'm cutting its heart out." He explained as he recalled the events of his first Berserker Rage.

Donna gave him a look of sympathy, "You shouldn't feel bad about it." He turned to look at her questionably, "You killed a monster. It's no different than when Hercules killed the Nemean Lion. Or when a hunter kills a bear, or when a man kills another to protect someone else." She said, reaching over and putting a hand on his shoulder.

He shook his head, "I get that but…when I killed that thing, it was like…I slipped." He tried to explain, "I nearly killed Black Adam today for hurting Wally…and worse yet…I WANTED to do it." He admitted, the Amazonian pursed her lips into a small frown at the revelation. "I feel like I'm putting myself in a cage…I feel like I'm an animal." He explained, thinking back to the Wendigo and how it was just a mindless animal. The question he didn't want to ask was now in the front of his mind, _could that be me one day?_

Donna thought for a moment, "But you didn't." she pointed put, James solemnly nodded, "You showed mercy…. that is one of the things that make us human…you must have heard of Greek myths, right?" he nodded, "What about Hercules?" she asked. James smiled as the thought of the Disney cartoon he saw as a little kid came to mind, "Well, you know how he was one of the greatest heroes of all right?" he nodded again, Donna smiled, "Well then, you might not know that his story starts with his great anger." She began, causing James to look at her questionably.

"Hercules was the son of Zeus and a mortal, he had great temper, and Zeus' wife Hera knew this. So, she enraged him to the point of killing all his friends and family." She explained, James stared at her with a blank expression. That was not exactly what he wanted to hear, "As penance he was sentenced by the gods to twelve impossible tasks that they thought would kill him but he survived and completed each one after the other." She explained, "He was able to do this by redirecting his anger to eliminating evil rather than causing it." She explained.

James looked down at his hands, thinking of the claws that sprung out from them, "So don't suppress it. Channel it." He summarized. Donna nodded, he kept his gaze fixed on his hands before looking over at Donna, she was giving him a small smile. It was genuine, and gave him a warm feeling while his heart rate quickened slightly, "I'll try." He consented, making her smile brighten.

"Good…. now you should get in the shower, you're still dirty." She said, reaching her hand to his face, cupping his cheek she rubbed some dirt off his cheek with her thumb. The flesh beneath her fingers heated up as a small blush appeared on his face, Donna withdrew her hand as soon as his cheeks warmed up and stood from the couch, "And for the record, none of us see you that way. Keep that in mind." She said before walking towards her room.

As she disappeared, James let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Wolf looked up at him, giving him what James would describe as a pitiful look. "Go lick yourself fur ball. You try talking to an amazon in a bathrobe." He muttered as he went to the showers to wash himself up.

After washing himself up, James began making his way towards his room before stopping at the Souvenir room, opening the door he turned on the light, on the shelf was the Helm of Fate. Kaldur having put it back after they returned from the mission. "Man, I'm glad we didn't have to resort to plan B." he said aloud before leaving the room, the door closing behind him

 **AN: Yes, I know this one was short but the reason for that was because the episode itself showed both the Team and Justice League for a good amount of time. Now as for the fight with the Injustice League playing out as it did, what changed it was James and Donna's presence.**

 **Having another powerhouse on the team as well as them being able to fly would drastically change the battle, and Donna's bracelets have been shown to deflect all manner of attacks. As for James's involvement, it's been shown that wolverine's claws can block energy attacks (Cyclops's eye beams) in some storylines, and that the Joker is just…. well he is a crazy asshole. That's all, he gets a right cross from a guy with metal knuckles he is going to go down. (Also, Batman literally did the exact same thing in the episode itself, I don't know what to tell you, maybe he has a glass jaw)**

 **Plus, I found it weird that how four heroes couldn't take out a guy with a directional attack and no superpowers and Black Adam could lose, granted Black Adam is a heavy hitter but still.**

 **Anyway, until next time guys.**


	13. Chapter 13: Humanity

**Humanity**

 **October 5** **th** **2010, 14:28 pm. Mount Justice.**

The Team's victory over the Injustice League may have been unknown to the public, but the league and family members of the team had shown pride for their actions. Wally's parents fear over their son's injury was almost overshadowed by just how proud of him they were. Almost, as they demanded that the Flash let Wally have at least a week to recover from their battle. So, for the time being Kid Flash was off the roster for the team, but was still able to hang out with the others at the cave.

The Team decided to celebrate with a beach day.

James had a pair of trunks on with a white sleeveless shirt on as he walked out to the beach with a lawn chair under one arm and a book in the other. Setting the chair in the sand, Wally ran by, kicking up the sand as he set up a cooking area, "Hey roadrunner take it easy! Your arm isn't healed yet." He called out to the speedster, the runner slowing to a stop as he was about to go grab the cooler from the kitchen.

"Aw come on! I've been cooped up for the past week!" he complained, James gave him a look, as though saying if he didn't want TWO broken arms he should take it easy. "Alright, alright, fine. I'll walk." He said, groaning out 'walk' as he sulked back towards the base. James smiled to himself before sitting down in the chair and began reading the book he had grabbed from the library on learning Japanese. While he knew very little from Laura he had developed a desire to learn more about the language since his mother came from the land of the rising sun.

So, he had spent the past few days learning about the language, he was determined to go to Japan and look into whoever was after him and Laura. This Yashida group was what James wanted to investigate, however they had gotten no official word back from the League on the matter. The group still felt like they were being watched closely after the Reds incident, James scowled at the thought of the android.

He nearly lost all his friends that day and they're not trusted to take him down? It wasn't right to him, but one problem at a time, and right now that meant learning to associate different words from English to Japanese. "Getting homework done?" Robin asked, making James fall out of his seat.

"Hells bells! Ok quit doing that!" he yelled out as he got back up into his chair. James dusted the sand out of the book. Robin crossed his arms, awaiting an answer. James sighed, "Look, go or no go, I got to find the guy who's behind this crap with me and Laura. Even if it puts me on Batman's shit list." He said with determination.

Robin shrugged, "So? The Team was formed after we did exactly what Batman told us not to do. We're going to go even if he says no." he said with a smirk.

James felt his lips pull into a smile, "I'm not exactly sure you should go, I mean you guys went to put out a fire and ended up collapsing the building." He pointed out, Robin chuckled as he hit the metahuman's shoulder, "But seriously Rob, thanks." He thanked the boy wonder before he headed out into the water. He was soon joined by other members of the team, Kaldur, Conner, and M'gann walking across the sand as well. M'gann spread a towel out and used her telepathy to stick an umbrella in the ground between the two of them.

"Hi James." She greeted, straightening the towel out, "Are Donna and Artemis not out yet?" she asked, looking around for the other two female members of the team. James shook his head, "Oh well. Are you getting in the water?" she asked as she laid out towels for the other young women of the team.

"No but if this is anything like last beach day I'm going to be thrown out to sea by one you." He said, recalling how Superboy had tossed him into the ocean. James went back to reading, noticing that M'gann had moved her umbrella so that he could read in the sun. However, when he noticed the sound of the waves seemed to be getting closer, he looked around and saw that the umbrella hadn't move, he was. M'gann was using her telepathy to carry him over the water, he looked over to M'gann who was flying beside with a large grin on her face. "…why?" he asked before being dropped into the water, M'gann catching the book so it didn't get wet.

James emerged from the water a moment later, not entirely pleased with being dunked yet again. Just before he could call out to M'gann, Wolf popped out from the water beside him, slashing more water onto him. He looked at the animal as his tongue hung out painting came up out of the water, the canine swam out after Conner who was further in, the water going up to his waist while James was over his head.

Swimming back to shore he began planning ways of getting the green skinned girl back. _Maybe if I…. M'gann you're not reading my mind, are you?_ He thought, realizing that he was thinking of how to get back at a telepath. That was about as wise as shouting your plan to the enemy. As he walked, Aqualad joined beside him without so much as a care. "Hey Kaldur, want to help me get back at M'gann for dumping me in the water?" he asked.

"Forgive me my friend, but I was about to do the same to you." he admitted, making James glare at him before shaking his head with a sigh. Kaldur was too much of a nice guy to stay mad at. As their leader dove back down underwater, James waded his way through the water onto shore, shaking the water out of his hair he ran his hands back through his deep brown locks. His hair needed to be cut soon, he had seen pictures of his father and he had no intention of having his hair get that long,

"What happened to you?" Artemis asked, James looked over to see the archer with Donna Troy. Artemis had her hair up in its usual ponytail, she wore a green one piece with a white stripe going down her sides. Donna however had on a red two-piece suit with black polka dots on the fabric. James blushed, after his and Donna's conversation after the mission with the Injustice League the pair had talked almost every day, His training to contain his rage was still ongoing but he had taken her advice in directing it instead of suppressing it. She checked on him after every training session to ask how his progress was going.

The answer was the same every time, 'I think so.'

The only way to really test out if it was working was if he went out in the field and tested it. Which was not only dangerous for whoever he fought, but James feared that it could reset his progress. At this point he was content with not really knowing if his training was working. "Is there a reason why you're staring? Do I have something on my face?' Donna asked, rubbing her cheeks to make sure she didn't have any dirt or anything on her face.

James realized he had been staring, he shook his head as his cheeks lit up, "No, no you're good." He said casually, he could all but see the grin on Artemis's face as the two walked to the water while James went to his chair to dry off in the sun. Thanks to his healing factor James didn't need to worry about getting sunburn.

As the tracker rested and dried in the sun, Artemis applied sun screen to her skin under the shade of the umbrella, "So you put this substance on so you skin isn't damaged by the sun?" Donna asked, looking at the bottle that Artemis had carried out with her, "I've been outside most my life and never needed this." She stated, "Well then again we never had this on Themacyria." She added.

Artemis raised an eye at mention of Paradise Island, "I know none of asked, but what's home like? The island I mean." She asked, while she never talked about her personal life openly, the idea of an island with no men on was something that made any female curious.

Donna smiled as fond memories came to mind, "Paradise is a word for it, but you could also call this right here paradise." She said, gesturing to the beach and surrounding forest, "I'd describe it as more of a large home. I could name half of the women on the island and they could name me. There's no pressure to become something, there's no need actually, I could have been a painter or an architect as easy as I wanted to become a warrior." She explained.

Artemis raised an eye at that, "But…...I thought Amazons hate men. But they aren't the ones who force us to become artists or architects, we just need people like that." She explained.

Donna nodded at her, "I know…our queen thought for the longest time that man was a corruption, a disease almost. But I think she truly hated what society had become, men were considered better because that's what society at the time dictated. But she sees how the world is currently and she's changed her mind, even if the rest of our people don't think so." She explained.

Artemis cast her a curious glance, "And you?" she asked.

Donna shrugged, "I can't judge an entire gender by the bad men alone. That's like saying that because your blonde and can fight that every blonde on the planet can fight." She provided, making Artemis smile at the complement. The amazon turned her head when she thought her teammate wasn't looking towards James, "Besides, not all men are bad." She said. She grew up hearing that man's world was inhabited by selfish, power-hungry, brutal males, but she could also see some quality in the women here as well, but she saw none of that in James. She saw someone who was trying to better himself.

Artemis saw her friend's gaze, a smirk spread out over her face. "So, any man caught your eye?" she asked, Donna's head snapped over to her's, seeing the look on her face, Donna blushed and averted her eyes.

"No! I mean James seems like a very nice man. But I barely know him, all I really know is he likes movies…...and reading." she explained, while she thought James was interesting, she also thought the same for her other Teammates. However, she would be Lying if she said she didn't find something about James…. alluring.

He was kind, friendly, but so was everyone else on the team in their own way. Looking at Wally she first thought he was a pig, but she saw that he was mostly a joker who got along with remarks meant to incite without insult. James however…...he seemed like almost like a lieutenant. Whereas Kaldur was the obvious leader and cared for the others, so did James.

However, he had no apparent interest in commanding the team, simply to be a part of it.

Artemis shrugged, "I suppose you're right, but the best way to find out is talk to him." she said before standing up, the Sunscreen she applied having dried. As she made her way towards the water, Donna looked over towards James and noticed he was the only one not in the water.

Standing up from her towel, she walked towards to the now dried teammate, her feet lifting off the ground and floating over to James. He had his eyes shut but he heard Donna approach. Opening his eyes, he looked over to the Amazon, "Hey Donna." he greeted kindly to his friend.

She gave him a friendly smile, "Hey. Getting lonely all the way out here on the beach?" she asked before tilting her head towards the water. "You getting back in?" she asked. James looked out to see Wally try and make a whirlpool by running around in the water with the others in the center.

"Me and water don't get along." he explained, Donna gave him a questionable look. She had seen him swim back in Louisiana during their last mission, and he didn't show panic when the Ship's compartment began to flood. Seeing the confused look, he went on to simplify, "Adamantium. It covers every bone in my body, naturally made by it too unlike my dad and Laura. But it's metal, and when it's in water it sinks."

Donna's eyes widened at the information, "Oh I'm sorry, I didn't-"

James shrugged, "I don't blame you, you didn't know. Besides it's not the first thing you think of, you should have seen me the first time I tried swimming with my claws." he said with a chuckle as he did a rough interpretation of how he was trying to swim.

Donna snickered, "So you hate swimming."

"Yeah…...though s few JERKS. Keep DUNKING ME!" he shouted out to the water. Donna looked over to their friends who pretended not to hear him, "But I can still swim, I just have some trouble staying above water. If you got me with scuba gear I could probably sink down to Atlantis." he explained, of course this was assuming that he didn't get crushed under the ocean pressure at that depth.

Donna looked over to their friends in the water. She looked back at James as a smirk spread across her face, "I have an idea for payback." she said, peaking the tracker's interest. Leaving down she whispered her plan in his ear, laying her simple plan out for him he grinned at the potential payback.

Standing up from his chair, the pair made sure the others were distracted, all of them trying to dunk Superboy was something that was a sort of tradition now. "Ok now hold on." Donna instructed. James raised his hand but stopped himself, "What?" she asked.

"It's just…..where do I….." he started, not sure what the next word would be, _Grab? Hold? Fondle? Ok not that last one for sure._ He thought to himself. Donna slid her arm around his side before lifting him up into the air, James held onto her out of instinct and Donna couldn't help the heat rise to her cheeks as his grip on her tightened.

 _This is not what I had in mind at all._ She thought before flying over their teammates. "This might hurt." she cautioned, James gave her a look, "Oh….yeah right. Sorry in advance." she apologized beforehand, letting him go, James tucked his knees in and wrapped his arms around them, making himself into a cannonball.

He hit the water with such force that the resulting splash made a wave that doused the others. When James washed up on shore, both his legs were dislocated, he thought it was worth it.

* * *

James sat with his dislocated legs spread across the sand. "You uhh…..you ok man?" Wally asked, he had seen James get hurt before and understood that he could take the punishment but still, seeing someone's limbs bending the wrong way was a cause for concern.

The Team had gathered around the fire and were roasting marshmallows over the flames. James simply shrugged, "Nah. I'll be fine. I'll be walking in an hour." he said, "Just keep this in mind next time you guys decide to dunk me." he said with a smirk as he raised his hand to Donna who high fived him. She initially felt bad about the damage done to him but he assured her it was nothing to feel sorry for.

"A little overkill don't you think?" Conner asked, James shrugged as he pulled his poker from above the fire and plucked the mushroom off it and took a bite of it. "So, anyone else looking forward to tomorrow? Superboy asked, tomorrow Black Canary would take over as their 'den mother' for the next week.

"I'm was looking forward to seeing Wally get laid out again but since he's injured I have nothing else to look forward to." James said, making everyone chuckle, even the speedster. The laughter does down when the mention of their new chaperone brought a line of thinking to everyone's mind, what about Red Tornado. Donna had heard of the betrayal, however she too found it unfair that the League wasn't sharing any information on that front.

The group chatted into the late hours before going back to the cave and each going home. It was a good day all in all.

* * *

 **October 10th 2010, Mount Justice. 16:58 p.m.**

The week with Black Canary had been enjoyable. The team was put through a training regimen to help develop or hone their hand to hand fighting. Today they were simply Sparring in pairs, Artemis with Robin, Aqualad with Miss. Martian, and Superboy with Wonder Girl while James stood off to the side since the only other member of the team was being pampered by Captain Marvel.

"Good work everyone. In fact, it's been a very productive week." Black Canary said as she walked into the ring, the others stopping their sparring as she spoke.

"Yeah, for everyone except kid malingerer." Artemis said, raising her hand to Wally who was sitting in a recliner and watching the others work. Captain Marvel had for some reason been waiting on hand and foot for the injured speedster. While he had been hurt, Wally's injury was pretty much healed by now but was still in risk of being easily broken again. Another week or so and he would be able to remove his cast.

"Hey! Arm broken in combat against the Injustice League here!" he protested in his own defense.

Black Canary chuckled a little, "I've really enjoyed being your, uh, den mother this week." she said as the computer announced Zatara arriving via the Zeta Tube. The magician walked to the console between both tubes and typed into the access registry to allow someone to arrive at the cave. " _Access Granted, Zatanna Zatara A-Zero-3."_ The computer said as the tube whirled to life and beamed someone else to the cave.

It was a teenage girl, she wore a school uniform with a blue skirt and jacket with a white shirt underneath it. She had shoulder length black hair like Donna, her's however was more straightened than the Amazon's, "Team, this is my daughter, Zatanna. Zatanna, this is the Team." he introduced as M'gann floated down in front of her.

"Hi, I'm-" she began before the boy wonder stepped between them and cut her off.

"Robin!" he exclaimed loudly before collecting himself, "I mean, I'm Robin, heh." he nervously chuckled, the others smiling at the boy wonder's blunder as he introduced her to the rest of the Team. "So, uh, are you joining the Team?" Robin asked.

Zatara stepped forward, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. This is strictly a visit. Though I am sorry we missed the training, it is something from which Zatanna could benefit." he said to Black Canary.

 _'_ _Do the rest of you get the impression we're still on probation with Zatara?'_ M'gann asked the others across the mental link. Despite what Captain Marvel had told them the Team still felt as though they were still in a sore spot with the League.

James shrugged, _'Kind of. At least we're allowed to leave the cave if we want to."_ he pointed out, referring as to when he was prohibited to step foot out of the cave after the League of Shadows discovered his existence.

' _Not just Zatara. I mean, why is Marvel still hanging around?'_ Conner asked. The others noticed it to, Captain Marvel spends more time around them than needed, he was friendly to them all but it was just kind of strange.

 _'_ _Because we like him?'_ Wally supplied.

Artemis put her hands on her hips as she smirked at him, _'You like him because he waits on you hand and foot.'_ She pointed out.

 _'_ _It makes one wish for Red Tornado's tenure as our chaperone.'_ Aqualad thought to the others as Zatanna gave all of them a weird look.

 _'_ _I can't exactly compare since I missed his time here but I guess if you guys say so.'_ Donna added.

 _'_ _If you ignore the fact we shouldn't have trusted him! He was a traitor, that machine nearly got m-all of us killed!'_ Conner said to the others across the link, correcting himself before he slipped.

Zatanna stepped towards the group, "Are you guys having a psychic conversation?" she asked the group, making the team look at her while Zatara and Black Canary directed their focus to the team as well, "Because I can't decide if that's really cool, or really rude." She said. While the team's psychic communication was nothing they tried to hide, in fact they were sure the League was aware of them using such a method, they also didn't explain every conversation through the link they have to the League.

 _'_ _Deny, everyone Deny.'_ Robin said to the others.

 _'_ _Should we really be dishonest to our mentors?'_ Donna asked, keeping a straight face with the others.

Artemis gave her a glance, _'Well they aren't always honest with us.'_ She pointed out, Donna wanted to protest to the notion, however Diana did avoid telling her about what the League does. And while Diana was for truth, she also thought Donna that sometimes the truth should be known to only a select few.

However, before anyone could deny the accusation, Superboy spoke up, "Alright fine, we were talking about Tornado, it's been weeks since his attack, and the League hasn't told us Anything!" the clone protested, making their plight heard.

"The League is searching for Tornado. As well as the other Androids who invaded the cave, and their creator T.O. Morrow." Canary explained, "Batman's made tracking them down our highest priority."

Robin stepped forward, "But you've found none of the above!" he retorted.

Canary kept a calm face, "Not yet. But Tornado is Justice League. The Team is not to pursue this." She ordered gently, knowing that Tornado's betrayal had left an impact on the team.

James crossed his arms, "Easy for you to say! He didn't break into your secret base and nearly drown, dehydrate, or suffocate you to death. We on the other hand got all three!" he protested, he knew that Laura had been trying to track Tornado, however when he tried to help she merely told him it was a League matter, "Look this isn't about revenge," he looked at Conner, who folded his arms with a huff, "ok it's MAINLY not about revenge, but it's about trust. This team was founded because you guys didn't trust us and you're doing it again." He said, thinking as to how he was detained to the cave after the Nanobot mission.

Black Canary tried to think of a way to respond, however they weren't exactly wrong. Zatara saw that the young man's words had made his colleague pause for thought, "Why don't you all take Zatanna on…. a…um…erm….tour of the cave?" he suggested, looking around for his daughter, the others joining in as well as they looked for where she had slipped off to, Robin saw her over by the Recliner petting Wolf.

"A tour? Cool." Captain Marvel said with enthusiasm as he entered the room with a plate of nachos that Wally had requested of him.

Conner stepped towards him, "Actually I was hoping you could take Wolf out for a walk. He needs the exercise, we'll join you in a few, he said genuinely.

Captain Marvel nodded, "Sure, Sure. Come on Wolf!" he called over to the canine as he flew off towards the exit to the forest with the plate of food still in his hands which Wally mournfully realized before James and Conner pulled him along with the rest of the group.

Entering the kitchen, Zatanna walked up beside Robin, the boy wonder immediately realized she had inexplicably changed clothes between their walk from the mission room to the kitchen, "When did you….how did you…" he began to ask flabbergasted.

"We're not really taking a tour, are we?" she asked, starting to catch on to what the Team had in mind.

Surperboy turned back to address her, "No, we're going after that Robot." He said, voicing the team's collective idea. He looked at Aqualad, who nodded in agreement at the idea, they had taken silence as an answer for long enough now, it was time for them to try.

"Oh, wow. Out loud and everything." Zatanna joked.

Artemis gave the others a curious look, "Um, what about new girl?" she asked, wondering what to do about their possible new member. It was nothing against Zatanna, but they were talking about going after a dangerous, rouge, robot after all.

Donna gave the new team member a pleading look, "Please don't tell Black Canary or the others." She asked, hoping that she would win Zatanna over with a simple ask.

Zatanna gave the others a mischievous smirk, "I can't tell. Not if you kidnap me." She suggested to the others.

"…oh she's going to fit in great." Artemis said with a smirk at their new friend's attitude.

Donna smirked, "Yes. Yes, she is."

While the rest of the team went to the Bioship, James and Wally went to suit up. Entering his room, James went to his closet where his slightly modified costume was hung up. It wasn't all that different from his first costume, the only differences were that the gloves where black instead of yellow, and the belt of the costume had a yellow edge around his waist with a square on the buckle with a yellow X going through it. Along with two yellow slits on the boots where his foot claws came out from.

Exiting his room, he ran to the Bioship just as the doors to the hanger were opening, taking his seat at the portside window with Donna behind him, he clipped himself into place in the seat as the ship began to lift off the ground. Flying out the doors, the ship coasted in the air while in stealth mode as it turned inland. _"M'gann, the Bioship wasn't authorized for takeoff."_ Black Canary said over the radio.

Before one of them could respond, M'gann spoke first, "We're kidnapping Zatanna!" she said excitedly, the other eight occupants of the ship turned and looked at her with wide eyes, Donna shaking her head 'no' at her, "Err, to show her Happy Harbor." She quickly corrected, making the others let out a collective sigh of relief.

 _"_ _Oh…um, Ok, have fun."_ She said over the comm, not seeing anything wrong with showing the new member around the area.

As the ship flew further inland at a slowed its speed, "We're are we going? Batman is the world's greatest detective, and he's checked in every logical location." Robin pointed out before looking over at James, "Has Laura been able to find anything?' he asked the Team's tracker.

James shook his head, "She's been tight lipped about it…..but I have a theory." He began, getting the attention of the others, "Far as I can tell, she's been trying to find Tornado. But I was thinking of focusing on the fire one." He explained, "I remember that her fire left this stench, Laura complained it nearly covered the other Reds' scent. If I can track that, I can find where they're at." He reasoned.

"So, find the other android, find Tornado." Superboy surmised, James nodded, "Alright, then where do we start?" he asked.

Robin raised his hand, "Um, not to doubt your tracking skills, but on the off chance that you can't-"he said, not meaning to throw doubt om his friend.

James nodded in understanding, there was a chance that the fire android could throw him off her trail, "Right, so I think we should split up, I'll go and try and track them while the rest of you find another lead in case I run into a dead end." He suggested to the others, Kaldur nodded at the logic.

"Agreed, Wonder Girl will be with you to get you back to us quickly if we find anything." He said, looking over at Donna who nodded at the logic. "M'gann, get us near the nearest road to drop them off at." She nodded as the team of two stood from their seats and walked to the rear of the ship where the bikes were stored. The team brought bikes with them as a precaution in the case they needed to split up like in situations like this.

The ship released the bike from it's grasp and let James pull it out, grabbing his bike helmet, he got on seat and looked back to Donna, "Hop on." He invited, patting the seat behind him. The Amazon walked over and climbed on the back of the bike, the other had been trained to ride these vehicles, however she herself saw no need to because her ability to fly. And even then, she didn't exactly see the appeal of the machines other than transportation. "Hang on tight, it's a bit of a rough landing." He advised, pulling his mask back down behind his head and putting on his helmet before turning the ignition of his bike on. _'Miss. Martian, we're ready.'_ He said across the mental link.

The floor beneath the bike opened, the pair dropped out into the air. Donna instinctively wrapped her arms around James's waist, ready to fly them both up but they hit the ground a second later and sped down the empty road. As the ship flew away, _'Have fun you two.'_ Artemis said across the mental link, making Donna blush lightly at the double implication.

 _'_ _Back at you. And save some robot for me.'_ He thought back as the pair drove down a dirt path. Donna was going to need to have a 'talk' with Artemis later.

III

O

The pair drove through backroads, James sniffing the air for traces of the stench from the android, Donna meanwhile still held onto him and was simply riding on the back seat, and she had to admit that riding the bike was beginning to get enjoyable, the wind against her hair was familiar to her from flying. But the roar of the engine was like riding a something powerful, the close turns, the distribution of weight, it made it seem so complicated but James made it seem simple. He suddenly pulled off to the side of the road and parked the bike. "What is it?" Donna asked, whispering was useless with how loud the bike could be.

James took his helmet off, "I can hear a river close by, maybe our water friend swam by." He explained as he sniffed the air. The Reds all had a way to get around, Tornado and the Inferno could fly, but the water based android was capable of traveling only by water, and as far as they could tell they couldn't fly out the Atlantic Ocean, otherwise the FAA would have caught them. And considering that the only tangible way to avoid radar detection was flying incredibly low under possible detection.

With that in mind, the only way they could escape was going inland. That and any country would be able to pick up their approach outside the United States. James sighed, "Nothing." He stated dejectedly, hoping that they would find something. As he put his helmet back on, he stopped, "You want to try?" he offered to the Amazon.

Donna's eyes widened, "Are you sure? I know you like the bike." She said, she had found James working on his bike along with Conner on multiple occasions, she knew that he valued the vehicle and she had never drove before.

However, James simply smiled, getting off the bike, he let her slide forward to where he was. Climbing on behind her, he started, "Ok now rule one of driving a motorcycle, always keep your hand on the handlebars." He instructed, Donna nodded and placed her hands on the handles, James leaned forward as he reached around and ignited the bike for her, the engine revved to life in front of her, making her stiffen slightly from both James pressing his back up against her and the sudden start to the engine.

"Ok, now what?" she asked a little nervous.

"Now you gently pull on the right handle to accler-"he started before Donna gave it a 'gentle' pull, making them zoom forward. Donna all but yelled out, her mouth opening but nothing coming out as she drove down the path. Her eye ran across the bike looking for the break, but what stopped her was the laughter coming from behind her, James was laughing not out of her mistake, but out of the situation itself. She let go of the accelerator, the two drifted down a hill, Donna maneuvering around a tree. The pair hit a bump, Donna felt something around her waist, looking down she saw James had his hand around her waist with his hand against her toned stomach. "Uh….sorry." he apologized as they slowed to a stop. Before he could continue, he smelled something in the air. " _*Sniff8 *Sniff*_ Wait, there it is!" he said, catching the scent of the android.

Inhaling the air, he looked up at the sky, "She flew overhead, fast, close to the tops of trees." He said, pointing up to the trees where a few of the top branches were still singed. James pointed westward, "They went that way…..and considering that they wouldn't need to change direction, then if we were to draw a line on a map…." He muttered, the problem was that it wasn't true west, it was angled south slightly so without a map he couldn't take a guess at what states she flew over.

At this he noticed that the weight on the bike was lighter, looking back, he saw Donna kneeling on the ground with a hand in the dirt. Looking over her shoulder, Wolverine saw what she was working on, a map of the US. And from what he could see it was proportionate to how the continent was, "Donna…how the hell?"

"Diana was adamant that I memorize a map of the US." She explained simply, "What direction is the trail leading?" she asked, James raised his finger and pointed in the direction the scent pointed towards. Donna stroked her chin, "That's about….here." she said, drawing a line through the dirt that was roughly his approximation.

"That's about six states. But it's better than nothing." He said with a shrug before tapping his comm, "This is Wolverine, we have a possible fix on the Red's location, straight shout from our position to the west, can you use the Bioship computers to trace the line?" he asked.

 _'_ _This is id Flash, I'm on it. We actually got some intel from Ivo, Morrow's base is in Yellowstone somewhere. And….it looks like you just pin-pointed a ten-mile radius for us to search. Nice going guys.'_ Wally said over the radio as James pulled his mask back down over his face.

Time to find some Androids.

* * *

 **October 10** **th** **2010, Yellowstone National Park, 20:15pm.**

Wolverine and Wonder Girl were picked up a little while later.

The tracker drew his claws, he didn't need to sharpen them, but he always looked over his claws before he knew he would use them. It was a habit he developed, like he wanted to make sure they were pointing the right way. He knew that it was basically impossible since his claws were unbreakable adamantium.

As the ship landed in a small clearing, everyone stood from their seats and walked towards the wall of the ship, switching to their stealth modes, they were Joined by Zatanna who was still in her normal clothes. "I recommend you stay behind." Aqualad said to the magician, they had seen her powers firsthand and while she undoubtedly would be useful, this was by all means their fight.

Zatanna raised an eye, "Is that an order?" she asked.

Aqualad shook his head, "No, you must do as you see fit." Kaldur said.

"Good. **_Emit ot yrt tuo eht wen kool!_** " she proclaimed as he leaned down and rose back up with a puff of smoke. Her clothes had changed into an outfit that resembled her father's look. A black pea coat, stockings, boots, and a yellow vest over a dress shirt with white gloves.

The team proceeded through the forest until they reached a wide-open plane with a river close by, James had been to the Park before, Laura took him camping here, but what he found strange was that he hadn't picked up the scent of any animals close by. "Something doesn't smell right…..no animal scents for miles." He said as he took cover behind a tree.

Robin pulled up a map of the area, "Yeah, there's something here. Ivo was right." he said, signaling the team to advance forward. Running out into the clearing, the wind suddenly picked up, blowing team back across the ground as wells as pushing Miss. Martian and Wonder Girl out of the air and onto the ground. Tornados spun around them, and up in the air was the traitor Leaguer Red Tornado.

Wolverine got up and ready to fight, "Why Tornado?! Why are you doing this?!" Miss Martian called out to the android. More Tornados spun across the ground, however something was off about them, they seemed to move across the ground, as though it was….drawing something. The Tornados lifted off the ground and moved aside, showing what they had drawn.

'PLAY DEAD'

 _'_ _Message received?'_ M'gann asked, the others nodded.

"Who cares why? Nail him!" Superboy shouted as he and Aqualad Charged ahead.

 _'_ _Are we really trusting the words of a traitor?'_ Wonder Girl asked through the mental link as she flew up towards Tornado.

Wolverine ran beside Artemis and Robin behind Aqualad and Superboy, _'Last time we fought him, he sucked the air out of our lungs, if he wanted to kill us then he could just do that again and make sure we suffocate. Asking us to play dead when he can just do it? Doesn't make sense.'_ James explained. Superboy threw Aqualad up at the android as Donna flew at him full speed. Red Tornado caught Aqualad's fist and swung him into Wonder Girl, right before Punching Kaldur into both her and crashing into Superboy below.

Artemis and Robin threw Explosive projectiles at Red Tornado, however the air currents simply flung them back, Artemis, Robin and Wolverine were blown back by the explosion. As they laid there pretending to be dead, James thought, _'Maybe Tornado is being controlled? He switched sides so fast at the cave, could be the other two uploaded a virus or something?'_ he thought.

 _'_ _Possible. That message could be Tornado subconsciously trying to save us.'_ Robin theorized as M'gann and Wally were 'taken out' by Tornado. Zatanna tried to cast another Spell, but Tornado grabbed her by the neck and apparently choked the life out of her. Dropping her to the ground, Tornado flew up into the air overhead.

"Quite a performance Brother." A deep robotic voice said as the ground rum led, James cracked an eye open to see another android, this one being bigger that the others and a deeper shade of red than the others. He had a triangular yellow symbol on his chest with a dot in the center of it glowing yellow. "But we both know that's all it was. I have all your memories Tornado. And with my next-gen processor, I know your next move before you do." He said as the earth beneath them started to shake as they got up, their plan apparently foiled, looking up they saw the slab of earth that Tornado's message was in levitating behind him, "Pffft, drawing a message into the sand?" he asked before shattering the rock and throwing the pieces at the team.

One of them hit Wolverine square in the face, the rock shattered upon impact. He stumbled slightly, a few other rocks heading for him "Crap." He muttered, raising his hands to his defense. However, Wonder Girl landed in front of him and punched the rocks apart as they came close. "Thanks." He said gratefully as Wally ran up the pillar that the new android was perched on.

"You stand no chance against me humans." He said as Kid Flash tried to hit him but the bot knocked him aside with his fist.

"We're not human!" Miss Martian and Superboy shouted proudly as she flew towards the android with her telekinesis making Superboy fly beside her as they went on the attack.

"My apologies." The android started as he raised his hands up, making the ground in front of his pillar form hands as well as rise, "I suppose the more inclusive term is-" he started before making the rock hands slam into the pair from either side, as though trying to kill flies. "-meatbags." He finished, Wolverine sneered at the android.

"Donna. Fastball." He said as he popped his claws

"Fastball?" she asked, wanting to make sure.

"Fastball." He replied plainly.

Donna had asked to learn the maneuver that he and Superboy had performed on their last mission. They explained the idea behind it but they haven't practiced it. So, she winged it, grabbing the back of his suit she swung him around to gain momentum before flinging him at the android. Wolverine readied himself to cut the robot apart, however just as he got close a rock shot up in front of him, he collided with the stone and fell to the ground, he groaned as he sat up. Looking up, he saw the pillar he hit begin to tip over.

"Aw hell." He said aloud before the rock came down and bashed him into the ground.

As James was trapped under the stone, Artemis and Aqualad came up on his flank. The Android opened the ground beneath them, as they fell the chasm began to close on them, Artemis however shot a rope arrow and grabbed Aqualad, using their momentum to swing them up out of the hole as it closed. Robin ran up one of the jagged rocks on the top of where the crater was and threw a birdarang at the android. He simply caught it, the projectile exploding in its hand, "Tornado's memory files and my superior processing speed allow me to anticipate your every move." He said confidently."

 ** _"_** ** _Emoks [sic] emoceb a dlofdnilb!"_** Zatanna cast as she raised her hand at the android, causing the smoke from the explosion to wrap around his eyes like a blindfold. Donna used this opportunity to throw her lasso around his neck and pull him off his pillar of stone towards her, Donna got him close before punching him in the face and through the rocks over James and the pillar it was standing on top of. "Tornado never knew my moves." Zatanna said with a triumphant smirk.

"And I bet you got some good one." Robin said, he said before he processed how that sounded, "Woah, sorry, guess that came off a little Wally." He said apologetically.

Zatanna shrugged, "Eh, I don't mind." She said nonchalantly. Meanwhile, James got up from the rubble of the rocks he was trapped under.

"Ok, that's it. I'm going to kill that stupid machine. Where is it?!" he asked, visibly angry from the machine's actions. As he said that however, Re Volcano stood up and fired two red beams from his eyes to the sky. Behind him, the top of a mountain shout upwards with fire exploding from it. "…aw fuck me." He muttered.

Adamantium was unbreakable, however any metal could be melted with enough heat. No one had ever tested Lava on it, but he was not eager to test that theory out.

 _'_ _He's activating a stage two eruption, it reaches stage three? Kiss the Hemisphere goodbye.'_ Kid Flash informed the team across the mental link.

Aqualad drew his handles, _'Attack him from all sides!'_ he ordered as he leapt towards Red Volcano along with Superboy from the front. He threw a rock into Kaldur and Caught Superboy's punch and tossed him aside. Miss Martian landed on the ground behind him and tried to pull him off balance. The machine looked back and caused a lava vent rise up near her, the heat making her pass out.

"M'gann!" Conner shouted as he ran towards her. Volcano landed in front of him and knocked him aside before picking M'gann up by her cape.

 ** _"_** ** _Ekoms dna srorrim... Etaerc Dik Hsalf snoisulli!"_** Zatanna chanted, one hand on a kneeling Kid Flash. The spell caused the plumes of smoke to become duplicates of Kid Flash, they off ran towards the android, "I use a scaled down version when I want to sneak out of the house." She explained as the illusions made a distraction while the real Kid Flash went around his flank and snatched Miss Martian from his grasp.

Before the Team could launch a new offensive, the water from the stream behind them rose up and crashed into Volcano, "Nice hit!" Robin called out to Aqualad.

"The 'hit' was not mine." Kaldur explained, making the others look at him strangely. That was when Kaldur saw the perpetrator, it was the water Android!

Red Torpedo used the water to lift himself up into the air as Volcano rose out of the Lava on a pillar, Tornado flew down from the sky and crashed through the pillar, knocking him back into the lava, he tried again to get up but behind Tornado was Red Inferno, throwing fireballs at the evil robot. She wrestled with the bigger robot, "Sister! Brothers! Stop-" he protested before Torpedo used the water to fling him into his brother and submerge all three of them into the Lava. Tornado spun down towards the three and sent them all further into the water with Tornado's legs in the magma.

"We got to save him!" Wolverine shouted, seeing not only their enemies give their lives to stop their brother, but their former den mother? They needed to help.

Superboy sprang into action, leaping close to the other side of the Lava and grabbing Tornado before jumping back over to where the Team was. The moment of apparent victory was short lived however when the actual volcano began to rumble, "Tornado listen! We're on the verge of a stage three super-volcano eruption. There's no turning back from that. We need to vent pressure fast! But the ash cloud will bring on nuclear winter unless you divert it!" he explained, the android nodded in understanding. Kid Flash looked at Robin, "Triangulate the pressure locus!" he orders.

Robin nodded as he brought up his screen and calculated, "There, there, and there!" he said, the Hud on his wrist computer showing where to strike. Artemis drew an arrow and fired it in the direction, Robin uploaded the coordinates to the arrow as it split apart into three rocket propelled explosive charges and hit the points.

Red Tornado then formed an updraft beneath him and flew up into the ash cloud, soon a huge funnel formed around the cloud of ash, focusing it up higher into the atmosphere where it wouldn't do any damage. Soon through, Red Tornado came down, unable to speak.

III

O

After being directed towards the lab where he was kept, Red Tornado instructed the Team on how to repair his damaged voice box. "There, that should do it." Robin said as he put the finishing touches on repairs.

"Yes, I can speak again." Red Tornado stated, his legs were still gone though, and still needed repair.

Aqualad was the first to speak up, "You were willing to sacrifice yourself to save the planet." He pointed out.

"The planet would survive, it was humanity that was saved." Red Tornado corrected before turning to Aqualad, "Though not by me, my sister and brother, were the true heroes this day." He said with a twinge of sadness, Kaldur put a hand on his shoulder in a show of comfort.

"My point is this. You were never the mole. Never a traitor." He explained to the android.

"No, I left you to protect you from attack and find my creator. Morrow." He explained, James frowned at his intentions. If he were to be honest, he would do the same thing with what is happening currently to him and whoever the group at Yashida is. However, he also knew that his friends would help him, it made him wonder what the Justice League was planning to do with that situation.

"Cool! Souvenir." Kid Flash said, holding up a mechanical hand that he aimed to bring back to the cave with them. Robin pulled out a leg.

"Reddie, we can rebuild you! Better than before." Robin said enthusiastically at the idea.

"I do not believe I should be repaired." Red Tornado responded sadly.

Superboy, having been quiet up to this point, finally spoke. "Why did you volunteer to be our den mother in the first place?" he asked aggressively.

Red Tornado's response was calm, "I was the pragmatic choice, I require no sleep, no secret identity, or secret life to live." He explained.

A light bulb went on in Kid Flash's head, "But you do have advanced A.I. programing, designed to learn, adapt, evolve." He reasoned.

M'gann hit her forehead in realization, "Hello Megan! You wanted to become more human." She said.

"And you can't do that with the League, they're stiffs." Artemis said.

Robin nodded, "You're sure not going to learn emotion from batman. Trust me" He said knowingly.

"And X-23…well she's either angry, or not angry most of the time." James said, thinking to how she acted on the League. Obviously she wasn't simply angry all the time, but still, that's how she mostly appeared to others.

Aqualad looked at the machine, "The cave wasn't only a proving ground for us, but for you as well." He added, seeing more logic with the idea.

If tornado could make a face, it would look unsure, "I do not know if these statements are accurate. But perhaps, they are true. And if I understand the term correctly, I have come to….care about you all, a great deal." He said honestly, making the young heroes smile.

"See? Practically a meat-bag already." Superboy said jokingly.

* * *

 **October 11** **th** **2010, Mount Justice. 5:15 p.m.**

Suffice to say, the Team was not exactly met with a warm reception from Black Canary, Zatara (who was mostly upset with Zatanna), and Captain Marvel (whom for some reason was soaking wet). However, after they explained the situation and outcome to the trio, they were only angry enough to make the Team run drills three times a day for the next week. Zatanna was also grounded until she could convince her father otherwise.

They had just finished their drills for the second time today and most of them were sore, James, Conner, and Donna being the only exceptions due to their philology. James was currently in the hangar, he was wearing a yellow tee shirt and jeans, having changed out of his costume and into some normal clothes. He had a water in his hand that was half drained, the young adult took a sip from the bottle. The sound of footsteps made him look up to see Donna in her usual outfit, minus the jacket, with some sweat on her brow and a small smile on her face.

Donna was the only one who enjoyed the drills, saying that they were like the trails she took to become Wonder Girl.

The Amazon smiled at James as she approached, "This seat taken?" she asked, gesturing to the spot on the wall next to him, James shook his head. She took a seat beside him, "I think the others learned never to disobey the league never again." She said empathetically, she knew that Robin, Artemis, Kaldur, and even M'gann were not all that trilled with the punishment. Wally all but died after the warmups.

"You do realize this entire Team is only here because they broke the rules and went against the League's orders right?" he asked.

She shrugged, "True, but that's not exactly a good lesson to learn, is it?" she asked.

"I always saw it as doing what you think is right." James replied, "Speaking of morals of the stories…thanks again for talking with me about…..you know." He said gratefully, her words had resonated with him, and after seeing how Red Tornado also wanted to grasp humanity, it made him feel better that he was not alone.

Donna smiled, "Anytime…thanks for the bike lessons by the way." She said, looking away, "I know I'm nowhere near ready to go out on the roads or anything-"

"Hey, first time Laura took me out? I crashed, any ride you walk away from is a good ride." He said, thinking to when he turned a corner too quickly and ended up crashing the bike he was on through a guard rail and sliding down a steep hill. Donna felt her cheek warm from the praise, James looked over to where his bike was stored and smirked, "You want to go try now?" he asked, Donna looked at him to see the smirk on his face.

She hesitated for a moment, "Sure, why not?" she asked, James stood up and offered his hand to her. Donna took it.

A few minutes later, Donna drove the bike out of the cave with James's arms around her waist.

She didn't mind.

 **AN: Sorry this took so long guys, my laptop had to be repaired when it stared ghost clicking on me.**

 **And as if that wasn't bad enough….there's been a huge development in my family life. We just found out today and…. I'm still shaken up, I won't lie, but I'm dealing with it. But I know my update schedule is wonky as is, but depending on how things go things might be a little slow, even for me. And I am sorry for that.**

 **But writing kind of helps, can't explain why but it gives me something to do while I wait for news.**

 **So, until next time, and who the hell knows when that will be, this is Avatarconner, bringing you the stories that I think should be made.**


	14. Chapter 14: Failsafe

Failsafe

 **October 16** **th** **2010, 16:01 p.m. Mount Justice**

The day had started out as most others had, James woke up, grabbed some breakfast, and went for a run in the forest around the base. He even found a small fox cub in a bush and found it an old slow rabbit to feast on. Returning to the cave around noon, he and Conner worked more on their Fastball Special in the hangar, with M'gann using her telekinesis to both help with their aim as well as keep James from smashing into anything important.

When they were called to the mission room, James changed into his costume and entered the mission room and joined the other team members and Red Tornado watching various monitors with a select team of Justice Leaguers going into space to make first contact with a mysterious alien craft that was on course for Earth's upper hemisphere.

They were in a stunned silence as the Justice League was wiped out on screen, Tornado was called to fight with the others on the ground level, and told them that if they fell, that this team would be the last line of defense.

And they fell.

James watched a screen showing Laura carving through the hull of a ship she had jumped onto with her claws, trying to get at the pilot before she was apparently vaporized, her claws falling to the ground. Red Tornado's voice came in, jaunting James out of his stupor, _'Red Tornado to cave, I fear that I am all that is left of the League-'_ he started before his transmission was abruptly cut off.

And that was it, the Justice League, the world's most powerful team of Heroes, all gone. Aqualad was the first to speak, "We are Earth's heroes now." Kaldur said, steel in his voice, James shook his head, he was right, they needed to focus right now.

"So what are we waiting for? Theme song?" Superboy asked, ready to get into the fight. James nodded in agreement, he was all for not killing people, but alien invaders who try and take over the world? He was willing to take that step.

"A strategy." Kaldur replied, "Earth's weaponry has proven ineffective, and it has been made tragically clear that a direct attack will not succeed." He explained, the others silently agreed, they were willing to fight but they need to be smart about this.

"While our enemy is massive in scope, that makes it harder for them to coordinate with all forces. If we can take an isolated cell of soldiers, we could learn more about or enemy." Wonder Girl stated, thinking back to Amazonian military tactics she was taught. "We are small but we are also mobile as well, we can move before they react." She reasoned.

Robin nodded in agreement, "She's right, so if check satellite imagery…" he trailed off as he brought up a holo screen on his gauntlet and made a projection of the planet appear in the air. "Here's where the aliens are now." Here said, a large number of red dots appearing on the globe. James noticed that many of the dots were focused in more populated areas, the west coast of the United States for instance was lit up with dots as well as on the other side of the country.

Superboy pointed to one up in the more northern part of the globe, "This one get lost?" he asked, James fallowed his sight and saw the dot, there wasn't anything in that area that he was aware of.

"It's Superman's Fortress of Solitude!" Robin exclaimed, making Superboy's face drop at the information.

"Superman has a Fortress of Solitude?" he asked, clearly somewhat surprised and upset that he did not know beforehand.

"It's power source must have attracted he Alien's attention. Enough to send a scout ship or something to check it out." He reasoned, seeing as how the large cities were the ones being attacked more than the less populated areas. And seeing as there no other reason one would be investigating the fortress, it wasn't populated like the cities.

"Must be some fortress." Superboy said disgruntled as he turned away.

M'gann gave him a look of sympathy and reached out to his shoulder, "Conner-" she began.

"No it's ok." He interrupted, "Guess there's a lot about Superman I'll never know….uh, now." He corrected, realizing that there wasn't really any chance he could learn much more then he currently knew now.

"We will target this lone ship." Aqualad said.

Kid Flash nodded, "Yeah! Break it down, build more! Hit those ugly aliens with their own mojo!" he said aggressively before both Donna and Artemis elbowed him, "Ow." He whimpered out. "What was that-" Wonder Girl pointed a thumb to both Superboy and M'gann, "Oh….um, that's not to say all aliens are automatically ugly. Hehe…." He corrected, though the Martian and Kryptonian didn't take offense.

The team dispersed to gather their cold temperature costumes. Entering his room, James walked to the closet and pulled out the box where he kept his spare suits, the Extreme Environmental Suit that each team member got was for when air temperatures were below water freezing levels. James usually didn't need one, his healing factor acted as a natural insulator for the cold, however he hadn't been to the North Pole before, so it was better to be safe than sorry.

The Suit itself looked for the most part like his usual costume, except it was mostly white where the yellow was and light grey where the black on his costume was with white eyes. The gloves also covered his fingers now, unlike with his usual costume which were fingerless gloves. Changing into the suit, he exited the room a moment later, nearly running into Donna Her costume was basically the same as before too except with the black changed to white. "So. Ever been up north before?" he asked as they walked down the hall together towards the hangar.

Donna gave him a small smile, "Aren't we already north? Providence is one of the most Northern areas in the country." She pointed out, James rolled his eyes, "But other than that, no I haven't. I know you're from Canada, so I suppose you know what we're getting into environmental wise." She reasoned.

The pair turned a corner, "Kind of. The Arctic Tundra isn't the same as winter in Toronto." He explained as they entered the hangar, as they approached, he saw Wolf board as well, the canine was technically a member of the Team, and this was all hands on deck after all. Making their way to the bioship, he saw the others had changed as well. The ship turned into cloak mode before taking off through the Hangar doors and making a B line for the Fortress.

James looked at the others, "So what do we know about the ships they use?" he asked, from what they saw the invaders used only air combat to attack and the only types of vehicles that they had were the smaller ships aside from the mothership. Robin typed onto the ship's computer and brought up an image of the ship on the window, the ship being able to auto pilot made sure they wouldn't hit anything.

The ships were identical, the hull was egg shaped with wo wings reaching out from both the right and left side and reaching forward. On the top was the weaponry, the cannons used to disintegrate their targets. There was also a cockpit window on the front of the hull but was tinted so there was no way to see the occupants, "Based on the design, the ships are mass produced with some sort of hardened material, strong enough hat conventual firearms can't penetrate it." Robin explained.

"It also must have some sort of propulsion system, there isn't any visible engine or exhaust but maybe it's like the bioship design?" Kid Flash suggested, seeing no other explanation.

"If that's the case then it's most like on the bottom of the hull. But we also need to disable it's communications so it doesn't call reinforcements." M'gann reasoned, the screen focused on the right arm of the ship, on the end of the arm was some sort of device, "If the weapon is on top, then this must be the communication's array." She said, 'We disable that then we can stop it from calling for help."

With the plan now laid out, they closed the screen on the window to see the icecaps they were passing over. "We're nearing the position of the scout ship. Artemis, Miss Martian, you two disable and blind the ship. We'll drop off and plan accordingly before taking the ship, everyone else stay back until the ship is disabled. We need to be safe and smart." He explained to the team.

Soon the black dot in the sea of white made them ship dive down towards the ice. Dropping out through the bottom of the ship, Miss Martian cloaked herself and took off with Artemis towards the Ship. Kaldur noticed the ice beneath their feet, _'Wolverine, can you cut out a section of the ice?'_ he asked. The tracker nodded as he unsheathed his claws and sliced a portion of the ice apart, Aqualad dove in and swam under the ice towards the location of the ship. Aqualad swam through the water until he was directly under the ship, _'Artemis, Miss Martian, now!'_ he ordered. Above the ice, the communications was pulled off telekinetically by the Martian.

 _'_ _Communications disabled.'_ Miss Martian announced before the ship abruptly fell onto the ice, _'Propulsion disabled._ ' She added before Artemis looked out from the cover of a snow drift and shot a foam arrow at the window. The ship blind fired in the direction the arrow came from, however none of them hit Artemis.

 _'_ _And ET's are sealed inside!'_ Artemis called out across the link, Aqualad took that as his que to swim up towards the ice and break through it, making the spaceship fall through the ice and into the water as Aqualad leapt out of the water and on top of the ship. The main cannon turned to blast the Atlantean, but Wolf leapt up and bit into the cannon and with it's strength turned it away to deflect the blast. Superboy leapt onto the ship and grabbed the cannon, lifting it up towards the air so it wouldn't fire at anyone.

Kid Flash ran with Robin and tossed the boy wonder ontop of the ship as Wolverine used his claws to scale the side. Robin pointed at the arm connecting the cannon to the ship, _'Structural weakness to the ship are here, here, and here.'_ He thought to him, Wolverines slicing pieces out of the arm where he said. Superboy began pulling the cannon, pulling both it and it's inner components out along with Wonder Girl as she pushed from the back of the arm.

However only Wolf noticed the small mechanism charging up to fire at Conner's back, without hesitation Wolf leapt up at Conner and pushed him aside as the machine fired at Wolf was vaporized before everyone's eyes. The Team stared in shock at the animal's selfless act of heroism. _'Wolf….'_ M'gann thought simply.

Robin looked at his wrist hologram, _'There….there was no indication of feedback I'm….I'm sorry."_ He apologized honestly.

Conner looked down, not disappointed or angry, but simply sad, James reached out and put a hand on Robin's shoulder, _'It's ok Rob…you couldn't have known.'_ He thought to the acrobat.

Superboy nodded in agreement, _'He's right, it's not your fault. We can't do anything for him now. Let's go.'_ He thought as Wonder Girl finished pulling the cannon off the ship. Miss Martian called the Bioship in, the cloaked ship parked beside the downed one. Donna flew the cannon over the ship along with M'gann, the Martian pressed her hands against the ship, mentally commanding the ship to interface with the Cannon.

 _'_ _This is going to take a few minutes.'_ Miss Martian announced to the others, Wolverine's ears twitched at the sound of two aircraft closing in.

 _'_ _We have maybe ten seconds, tell me we can at least fire at one of them with that thing!'_ James thought as they saw two alien ships fly in to investigate the scout ship's location.

 _'_ _I can't! The ship has to integrate the cannon before we can operate it! And even then, we need to wait!'_ M'gann called out as she focused on the cannon. Maybe if she focused on making it a art of the ship she could cut thr time down to a few minutes but that was no guarantee.

 _'_ _I got you covered! Get in the ship I'll meet you inside!'_ Artemis thought as she drew her bow and fired a trio of explosive arrows at the flying ships before running back towards the others across the snow, two of them hit one of the hostiles and the third hit the second ship. The one who got two arrows exploded and the other was damaged enough to come crashing down to the ground. The ship slid across the ice, the cannon turned at the archer and charged to fire.

 _'_ _Artemis! Behind you!'_ Miss Martian warned, instinctively Artemis turned around and drew another explosive arrow back to fire…but it was too late. The beam fired and the next thing that the other young heroes saw was Artemis vanishing in a flash of light. _'ARTEMIS!'_

That mental cry of horror reverberated through the others, James' claws came out of his hands as rage flooded ever pore of his body. Before he could sprint out and claw his way though the alien bastards, Aqualad threw his arms out with his handles, making a shockwave travel through the water beneath the ice and to the lone ship, the water lifted it up into the air as it fired another shot before turning to spike and piercing the ship.

James could only hear a white noise, his rage made his eyes turn blood red, however he was almost….calm. The tracker usually had something to direct his anger at….but right now he didn't. So he closed his eyes, took in air through his nose, and shakily breathed out though his mouth. Kid Flash was in a similar state, but he was not holding it back, "They're dead! Every one of them! If it's the last thing I do!" he yelled out in rage. James forced his claws back into his forearms.

* * *

The Team was in the bioship a few minutes later, M'gann was trying to silently morn in the pilot's chair, but the occasional sniffle and sob escaped her lips. Donna was clenching her hands as tears fell from her eyes as well, they dripped onto her clenched fists. She just saw a friend die, and she couldn't do a damn thing about it. The sound of an enraged outburst made her look over to see Wally hit the dashboard panel in front of him with rage. Holding the back of his head in his hands as his elbows rested on the console, she shook her head. She wasn't the only one in mourning.

Aqualad took a calming breath, "There will be time to grieve later. Right now we have a job to do, defend the Earth. And make sure Artemis' sacrifice was not in vain." He said, Donna took a breath and wiped the tears from her eyes.

'You're right….where to next then? The cave?" Wonder Girl asked.

"The Hall of Justice. The Human Race must know there are still there are heroes defending them." Aqualad said. The others solemnly nodded, Donna looked over to the seat where James usually sat to see it empty, she looked to the back of the ship, standing up from her seat she entered the rear of the ship, she found James huddled up against the wall with his knees tucked into his chest. Donna pressed her hand against the door frame and mentally commanded it to close so they could talk privately.

Donna walked over to the tracker and sat in front of him on folded legs, "James…are you ok?" she asked with concern. His mask was pulled back so his face was exposed to her when he looked up. He wasn't crying but his eyes were flickering between their normal brown color and his enraged red state.

"No. I'm not." He stated simply. Donna gave him a sympathetic look, James felt the anger within him slowly subside, his eyes returned to their brown color, "I just…fuck Donna, we just lost a friend…..I want to gut something and-!" he trailed off as his foot claws came out inches away from Wonder Girl's knees. He saw and quickly retracted them, "I'm sorry I just…..I just…." He trailed off.

Donna bowed her head as she closed her eyes, reaching her hand out she put it over his fist, "I know…..we will avenge her James. I swear." She promised, the two locked eyes with one another, James perused his lips together and nodded firmly. He unclenched his hand and slipped his hand into her's. Donna ran her thumb between his knuckles, the ports of his gloves brushing against her nails but she showed no fear of getting hurt.

James felt his cheeks turn pink, just as Donna's did. She pulled her hand away and stood up, "We're heading for the Hall of Justice…..ready to fightback?" she asked, James nodded before she pulled him up onto his feet.

After the team changed into their usual outfits in route, the sight of the United States capitol came into view. The White House itself was under siege by alien ships. James walked to the center of the room, "Open the hatch, I need something to stab." He growled out as he unsheathed his claws. M'gann nodded before opening the floor above one of the ships.

James jumped through the hole onto the roof of the ship, slicing through the cannon while his foot claws held him against the hull of the ship as Conner dropped onto a second ship and Donna flew at the third one full speed, breaking through the cannon and driving it into the ground while Superby bashed into the machine until it fell.

Wolverine crawled to the front of the ship and smashed his fist throught the glass with his claws slicing into something meaty. James drew away with a grim smirk, "Fuck off ET." He muttered as the ship fell through the air. Wolverine jumped off as it hit the ground, rolling onto his feet as the ship crashed into a car and exploded. Walking over towards the bioship as it landed, he walked up beside Conner as some of the US soldiers cheered over their arrival, "I thought Superman was older." One of them muttered to a friend.

'Yeah and isn't Wolverine a chick?" another asked.

The tracker let out a grunt as Donna chuckled, "Thanks Laura. I'll-" He muttered before stopping himself, he was about to say he'll get her back but the fact was he never would. Laura was gone, that thought alone made him bow his head in anger, _What the hell is wrong with me?! I grieve for Artemis but not for my own kin?'_ he thought

Aqualad and the others exited the ship, the Atlantean walking up to the highest ranked officer who saluted him, "General Wade Eilling. Air Force." He greeted with respect.

"Aqualad. Justice League." He said, passing momentarily, "We'll help you salvage as many alien cannons as possible. After that, we take back what's ours." He said with determination.

The next hour was hard work, but James threw himself into it, it was what they all did to try and distract themselves from the reality of the situation. However, that didn't last when they made it to the Hall. Walking inside, Wolverine observed the fallen statues of the original seven members, "They're really gone." Robin said in a saddened voice as he looked at the broken statue of Batman.

Wolverine saw Conner look up to the one in the middle, the one of Superman. It was no secret that him and the Man of Steel's relationship was almost nonexistent, but James knew that he desperately wanted one with him. The soldiers they saved even thought he was him…..he knew what that felt like. M'gann floated over to the statue of her, reaching her hand out to his face she openly wept for him, before suddenly standing up and floating up into the air. Using her telekinesis, she lifted the torso of her uncle's statue up.

In the rubble was J'onn, the Martian Manhunter. "Uncle J'onn!" M'gann yelled with happiness in her voice before flying forward.

Aqualad stopped her by stepping in between her and her uncle, _'M'gann check his mind. He may not be who he appears to be.'_ He warned.

James simply walked by and kneeled in front of the alien and gave him a sniff, "It's him. Only person I know who has a predilection for Oreos." He said, M'gann flew over their leader and hugged her uncle. Seeing M'gann hug her uncle brought a small smile to his face, even if Laura was gone…..he could still be happy it wasn't the case for M'gann.

"But we saw you get disintegrated. You and Superman. And everyone!" Superboy pointed out, clearly confused on how exactly the Martian survived.

M'gann helped her uncle to his feet as he rubbed his head, "Yes….I remember. But I cannot remember how I survived." He said honestly, "Or how I arrived here…." He added, just as confused as the others.

"Maybe you were density shifting and the beam passed right though you?" M'gann provided, the others nodded at the idea. Robin even commenting that it could have scrambled his brains along the way, however that didn't explain where he has been since then.

"My mind is clouded. I feel certain I had something important to tell you." Martian Manhunter said as he tried to recall the vital information that he needed to tell them.

Donna cupped her chin, "Perhaps with time you will remember?" she suggested, recalling as to when she forgets something and simply recalls it later after something jogs her memory.

Kid Flash slapped his palm against his forehead, _'Hello Wally! Come on!'_ he said, grabbing the other's attention before speeding out the doors to the hall. Robin fallowed while the others stayed behind, a few moments later, Kid Flash spoke across the mental link, _'Look! It's giving off Zeta Beams! These are the same things that power our Zeta Tubes! This thing doesn't disintegrate, it teleports! Artemis is alive!'_ Wally said in joy, making the other's eyes light up.

"That must have been what you wanted to tell us!" M'gann said to her uncle.

Before James could comment, he heard more ships coming. _'Everyone we got incoming!'_ He announced over the link. Looking out the windows they saw what had to be squads of ships approaching.

 _'_ _We are on our way!'_ Kaldur said to Robin and Kid Flash as they started towards the doors, ready to fight.

 _'_ _Negative! Miss Martian camo the Bioship-'_ Robin ordered, however just as the thought crossed his mind, one of the ships fired at the Bioship, M'gann dropped to the ground with a yell. Conner was at her side inside a minute, James and Donna joined the soldiers by the doorway as Robin, Kid Flash, and the General entered.

"Damn. We're trapped." Elling cursed before Aqualad walked to the door and unlocked it for them. As the General led his men, he called out to James and Donna, "You two! Covert the exit!" he ordered. The pair looked around for something to use to block the enemy's advance, James' eyes landed on the statue above the doorway.

"Sorry Supes." He muttered before jumping up the wall and slicing through one the statue's feet with his claws. Donna flew up and wrapped her lasso around the other as James dropped down to the doorway and ran inside with Donna behind him, pulling out the other leg and causing the statue to fall over the exit, covering their escape.

Entering a library, soldiers took positions up at the door with their guns trained on the only way into the room. "What's the plan?" Donna asked their leader s Martian Manhunter stepped in front of a double set of doors that had the words 'Justice League Members Only' on it.

"We're falling back to the cave. But we can only go one at a time." He explained, Donna looked around at her Teammates, and then to the shoulders, she did the math. There wasn't enough time to get everyone out through the Zeta Tube. "We're the only ones going." He said mournfully." Donna clenched her hands together, she was taught that warriors fight together or die together, they never leave a fellow warrior behind. But she also knew that if what they thought was true, it wouldn't matter, they would save the soldiers and everyone else anyway. "I don't like this either. But we are the only hope now." Aqualad explained, putting a hand on Donna's shoulder.

She reached up and held his arm before nodding firmly. Miss Martian was the first to go. Them Robin, Just as Kid Flash was about to zeta to the cave however, the entrance to the cave exploded, killing a few of the soldiers, before he could protest, Aqualad shoved Wally into the tube while Superboy ran off to help the Soldiers, before James and Donna could help, Aqualad took their arms and pulled them back towards the Tube, "Go! NOW!" Aqualad ordered.

Donna turned to the tube as it scanned her, she looked back to James before stepping through. James went next, the Tube reading his codename aloud before he walked into the light. On the other side, he looked around, half expecting the aliens to be waiting for them. A few seconds later one of the soldiers came through, James caught the wounded soldier in his arm and carried him off to the side before Superboy jumped through. The Team waited on baited breath for Kaldur to enter, they were surprised to see Martian Manhunter fall through the Zeta Tube before it powered down.

The Team ran to the Leaguer's side, looking up at them, he gave them a mournful look, "I am sorry…..he said you would need me more." He said apologetically. It felt like a collective gut punch to the Team. James felt his jaw clench, he wanted to punch something, more than that he wanted the alien who blasted him right here so he could kill them slowly and painfully as possible!

"…Kid Flash. Get the soldier to med bay." Robin said, the speedster nodded before zooming the air force private to the medical bay. James saw that J'onn was still somewhat woozy, helping him up onto his feet, he walked the Martian to the computer where a small stool rose from the floor. Helping him down onto the stool, as Kid Flash re-entered the room, the to hers gathered around Robin, "Our next mission is clear. If we believe the aliens have been teleporting their victims-"

"We do." Wally interjected positively.

"Then the only reasonable detention facility is here." Robin continued as he tapped on his bracer, bringing up a image of the alien mothership. "At the alien mothership in what used to be Smallville Kansas." He explained before turning to Superboy, "Superboy will act as a distraction while the rest of us sneak into the ship.." he began.

"NO!" Miss Martian shouted in horror at the idea before turning to her boyfriend, "He's offering you as a sacrifice! Aqualad would never do that!" she said in appalment at Robin's plan.

Robin stared at her, 'You're right….Aqualad would sacrifice himself. A mistake that just cost us our leader." He pointed out to the Martian before gesturing to the clone, "Superboy is the most out of all of us to be perceived as a threat. Motivating the aliens to deploy." He explained.

"Ahem?" James asked, making Robin look over at him, "Robin, your plan makes sense, but there is no way in hell you are sending Superboy out there alone." He said before looking at the boy of steel, the clone gave him an grateful look, James nodded at him, "I mean come on we all know you're default emotion is anger but when it comes rage? Come on. Look at me." He said jokingly.

Robin looked at the others. M'gann didn't seem as opposed, Superboy and James seemed both all for the idea, Donna however was looking at James with concern, Wally simply shrugged, "Worst case? You two get teleported inside and we free them along with Artemis. And, uh, Aqualad. And everyone else." He corrected.

Robin nodded, "Alright then. You two distract the aliens. The rest of us will infiltrate and get the others out." He surmised, the others nodding in agreement. "We'll leave in three hours. In the meantime we need to set up contingencies. I'll call whatever heroes remain, Zatanna, Red Arrow, and others. Kaldur mentioned some friends in Atlantis I'll call up. Everyone else, rest, prep, get ready…..do what you need to do." He said, dismissing the team.

As M'gann went to her uncle, Robin and Superboy made their way towards the armory where they kept a number of Bat gadgets and trick arrows. Wally ran to the computer and started to contact various heroes and direct them to the closest Zeta Tube. James however made his way to his room, walking down the halls he approached his room and closed the door behind him. Tapping his communicator in his ear, he spoke, "Call mom and dad." He commanded.

The dialing sound in his ear rang for a few moments before the line said it had been disconnected. He sighed, "So either they're captured to and I'll see them later or…or…." He shut his eyes. "No, no don't think it." He said before leaning back against the door and crossing his arms.

The knock against the other side of his door drew his attention, pushing off the door he turned and opened the door. Standing on the other side was Donna. "Hey…..may I enter?" she asked, James shrugged, moving aside for her to enter the room, "Could you uhh….shut the door?" she asked, James raised a eye but didn't question it. She wanted to talk privately, he actually needed to do the same with the others.

"So are you o-" he started as he turned around to Donna. The Amazonian stode over to him and reached out for the side of his hand and pulled his head in as she leaned forward. Her lips tasted like sweet strawberries, he was completely stunned and unable to move as her rose colored lips closed around his. It wasn't like with Jade, aggressive and wrestling for control, it was slow, tender, and nervous.

He felt it too, but the shock soon faded and he kissed back, her hand slid up the side of his face into his hair. His hands weren't sure where to go so they rested on her sides, that seemed like the best place to hold her as he pressed further in. The pair broke away for air, their eyes met, James was breathing heavily, "Bu-wha-I-what?" he gasped out, searching for the right way to ask.

Donna's cheeks flushed slightly as she adverted her gaze, "I…..I like you." She admitted. The tracker thought of a handful of ways to reply, bust they could come across more snarky than funny.

So he settled on the simplest one. "Why?"

She smiled, "Because…..I look at you, and I see a good man. I see someone who cares for others above himself…I see a friend. I see a comrade. I see a warrior." She went on as her hand went back down from his scalp to the side of his face, her thumb brushing against the corner of his mouth, he didn't even realize he was smiling. Donna looked down, "I see someone….I could like…..maybe even more." She finished.

James on the other hand was almost speechless, Donna Troy. Wonder Girl, an Amazonian no less, liked him.

He looked down, "Donna…..I…..look, I…..before you came here….Chesire and I had…something." He explained, making the Amazonian look at him with wide eyes, "But it….it wasn't real. I trusted her and she used it against me." He explained, Donna looked at him sympathetically, "But I trust you Donna…..but I need to tell you because…" he struggled, he couldn't think of a reason why he told her honestly.

"I understand." Donna reassured, James looked at her quizzically, "Something like that? You can't keep it hidden…and I feel honored that you trust me with that." She said with pride in her voice as a small smile . "As for why I…well. If not now then when?" she asked.

James chuckled at that, Donna joined in in the small laughter until they settled into silence. "So…..are we…" she began.

"Yeah…..we are." He affirmed before leaning in and kissing Donna again, pulling back they both gave each other a smile. James suddenly frowned, "Um….doesn't this mean you can't go back home?" he asked. Since Paradise Island was hidden from the world of man, not to mention it had little to no technology the invaders would be interested in, it was safe to say that the island was most likely safe for the time being.

She shook her head, "No, that's an old urban legend….however they aren't afraid to kill any man who steps foot on the island." She explained. However considering James' healing factor, that might prove hard for her sisters on Themacyria. She reached her hands at his, entwining them together, "But they would have to best me before they got to you." She added with a smile.

James returned it. Out of all the losses, he saw this as a victory.

* * *

After getting things ready, the Team set out for the Alien mothership. They got to Kansas by taking a Zeta Tube to the city closest to Smallville and working their way from there to the remains of the small town. Perching themselves on a cliff overlooking the ship, they observed the outside of the ship, Robin scanned the area with his binoculars while the others stood nearby.

The plan was a two part infiltration, Miss Martin and Martian Manhunter would use his density shifting to phase into the ship, after that James and Conner would cause a massive distraction in order draw the aliens out. While that happens, Wonder Girl, Robin, and Kid Flash would sneak inside. James found himself sealing glances at Donna, his mind still reeling from her confession hours prior. He shook his head, he needed to focus, this was it, this was the fight to win the day.

"First team. Deploy." Robin said, snapping James from his momentary daze. Miss Martian pulled her hood up and took up into the air with her uncle. After a few moments Robin nodded to Wolverine and Superboy.

James smirked, "Bet I take out more than you." He challenged, trying to find some light in the situation. The Kryptonian clone smirked at him, accepting the challenge. Superboy grabbed him by the arm and spun him around before letting go, sending the tracker through the air over towards the alien mothership. James was aimed for the slope of the ship, he released his claws and sunk them into the side of the ship, sliding down the side and slicing through the ship, James saw Superboy pull one of the Turrets off and used it to fire up at the mothership.

The below them, the sides of the hip opened to reveal launch strips that the ships took off from, an entire fleet took off from inside. James took this as the moment to jump from the ship down towards where the ships were flying out from. Wolverine landed on top of a ship as it flew out, cutting the gun off the top of the ship he then sunk his blades through the top of the ship to where he estimated the pilot was. The ship started to go down so James did the only sensible thing, he jumped off.

Falling through the air he sliced through the wings of any ships that flew close, cutting three out of the sky and landing on another, this time sinking his claws directly into the ship. _'That's five.'_ James thought as another alien ship flew right at him, before it could hit James it was blasted out of the air by the cannon Superboy was using.

"Seven!" Conner called out before James landed beside him, his weight and velocity from his fall making the metal beneath him crater around him. Before James could retort, the pair were blown back by an explosion sending them careening through the air and crashing onto the ship. Wolverine got back up first, his ears picked up the sound of a charging cannon, turning around he saw a ship hovering in midair with the cannon aimed at him.

James shut his eyes tight, _Donna, Conner, Robin, Wally, M'gann, I-_ he began to think before he felt something shove him aside, he opened his eyes in time to witness Superboy get caught in the blast, a bright flash was seen before being disintegrated. The mental link to Conner was severed, James connected the dots, his friends weren't simply teleported…..they were dead.

James looked at the ship that had fired with red eyes, **"GGGGRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAA! YOU MOTHERFUCKERS I'LL GUT EERY LAST FUCKING ONE OF YOU!"** Wolverine roared out as he lunged at the ship, driving his claw through the window and killed the pilot before jumping off and slicing through another ship. James was consumed with rage, his claws slashing at everything that move, he clawed his way through the smaller ships one by one, damaging them enough so that they would crash and the occupants would die. They tried to blast at him but James' speed had taken a boost as well, his adrenaline working overtime.

However, when the ship he was on top of crashed into the mothership, he turned back with a snarl to see the other ships had learned not to get close. AS they began to charge their cannons, James could only feel the rage. He was angry, he was angry for his friends dying, angry for not being able to save any of them, angry that he was useless to fight on against such a overwhelming enemy. But most of all, he was angry that there was a chance he would survive this. He grit his teeth, "I am not going down easy." He growled to himself as he leapt towards the alien ships.

There was bright light, then….nothing.

On the side of the alien mothership lay a skeleton made of metal, with ten claws on the hands and feet.

Inside the ship, Donna halted her flight as she felt James' mental connection unravel. The Amazonian felt tears roll down her cheeks, "Donna! We need to go!" Robin shouted, the warrior snapped her head down the hall to see the others heading for the exit, the boy wonder having armed explosives at the ship's core. She flew after them towards the door. The exit suddenly closed, cutting them off, Wonder Girl spun around in time to raise her bracers and deflect the alien machine's lasers back towards them before dropping into cover beside Kid Flash and Robin.

Robin looked over to M'gann and J'onn, "Go! Get out of here!" he shouted to the Martians as he threw some explosive birdarang at their attackers.

"We are not leaving you!" M'gann protested as the aliens kept up their attack, she had lost almost everyone and she was not going to lose all her friends today!

"We'll e right behind you!" Robin reassured, M'gann looked to her uncle, he put his hand on her shoulder and phasing them both through the floor. Robin looked at his countdown on his gauntlet that was synched with the explosives he planted, they had only a few seconds left. He grabbed the last of his birdarang, looking at Wally and donna, the speedster nodded as Donna gave him a firm look.

"It's been a honor." She said simply knowing their odds. The three charged into the battle, for one last fight before the entire ship was destroyed.

* * *

James eyes snapped open as he shot upright, his eyes began to readjust to the lighting, the young adult blinked a few times before his eyes finally adjusted and he saw where he was. It was the cave, for a moment he feared he was the sole survivor of the invasion, that his healing factor had repaired him and was recovered by someone and brought to the cave.

Looking around the room however, he saw not only all of his friends alive and well but Batman, Red Tornado, Martian Manhunter, and Captain Marvel helping a few of them up onto their feet. James opened his mouth to speak but his head suddenly felt ten times smaller, a migraine coming over him as he tried to process what he was seeing. "Bit….you guys…how…..what?" he muttered out.

Taking a second look, he saw that his friends were laid on tables in the mission room, "You're all alive!" Ms. Martian said, overjoyed that her friends were alive and well. James looked over at her and gave her a 'iffy' motion with his hand.

"Let's wait until we can figure out what the hell just happened to us." James said as he raised a hand to his head and held it. He looked over across the room and saw Donna, she looked just as bad as she did, she locked eyes with his, the pair felt a wave of calm go through them both at seeing their other was ok.

"What happened in there?" Batman asked the manhunter as he helped steady him.

Martian Manhunter seemed just as drained as the rest of them, "The exercise, it went all wrong." He explained with a strain in his voice.

"Exercise?" robin asked as sweat covered his face.

'Try to remember." Batman said, "What you experienced was a training exercise, Manhunter psychically linked the eight of you within a artificial reality. You all knew this going in." Batman began, "What you didn't know was that it was train to failure exercise, no matter what the team accomplished, the scenario was designed to get worse. Still, you were aware that none of it was real. Including the deaths of the entire Justice League." Batman explained, the others looking at one another, batman's explanation brought back the events of this afternoon.

They were called to mission room and Martian Manhunter explained that the exercise was supposed to simulate a mission, help keep them sharp since there had been no official mission from the League in a few weeks. However sometime within the simulation, it was like the morning had been rewritten, it was like having two memories in one place.

"That is why you hardly grieved even when wolf as disintegrated before your eyes." J'onn explained to everyone, "But all that changed when Artemis died." He added, making the other look at Artemis, who had her head bowed down. "Though consciously Miss Martian knew it was not real, her subconscious mind could not make that distinction. She forgot it was only a exercise, allowing her subconscious take control, and making you all forget too." He finished explaining, causing the young heroes to look over at Miss Martian, who held a shocked and horrified expression on her face.

"I-I'm…I'm so sorry." She apologized, knowing that the words alone were not enough.

"That's not her fault! Why didn't you stop the exercise!?" Superboy protested, leaping to his girlfriend's defense.

Martian Manhunter explained that they tried, but M'gann had a sort of death grip on them, so much so that when they passed in the reality, they slipped into a coma on the outside. He tried to intervene and use his own mental powers to pull them out but their collective emotions acted like white noise, preventing him from being able to do what he set out to do, and shock M'gann out of her grip. "My apologies. I had no idea a training exercise could be so dangerous….so damaging." He explained, the others looked over to Miss Martian to see her supporting herself on the table she laid on by a single arm, guilt racked that this was all her doing.

Captain Marvel stepped over and held her in a embrace as she let the tears roll down her cheeks, the rest of the team still too stunned to find the right words. If there were any.

* * *

 **October 17** **th** **2010, 2:30 a.m. Mount Justice**

James couldn't sleep, the events of the past day still weighed heavily on the young heroes. Sitting up from bed, he slipped out of his room into the hall and simply started walking. He was wired, he needed something to do, better yet he needed something to hit until he was exhausted. Seeing as the best place to do that was the gym, he made his way in that direction. The gym was filled with all sorts of work out equipment, yet James passed all the treadmills, elliptical machines, dumbbells, and weights. Instead he made his way right for the punching bags, not bothering with grabbing the gloves, he started punching.

His mind thought to seeing Artemis getting disintegrated. He thought of Conner pushing him out of the way of getting killed himself, and he thought of the rage that cursed through his veins, the way he carelessly carved through those imaginary foes and wound up not only dying, but not being able to save his friends inside the ship. The fact that Wally, Robin, and Donna were all killed as well told him that he might have been able to do something to save them.

If he hadn't let himself slip into his berserker sate he might have-

 _SNIKT!_

The sand within the bag poured out as James pulled his claws out of the bag, watching the sand pour out of the container, h looked at his hand to see his claw. Retracting it back into his arm, he ran his hands up his face, "I think you won." James whirled around to see Donna Tory, floating in the air in her sleepwear. Which for her was grey sweatpants and a old looking shirt that matched in color.

James looked down at his hand, "That was kind of a accident…I was thinking of today and…" he trailed off, closing his eyes. He heard as Donna's bare feet touch the ground, they padded across metal floor up to James. He felt her hand on his cheek, he opened his eyes to see Donna staring into them with her own sadness. "Can you sleep?" he asked.

"No. You?" she asked, he shook his head no. The Amazonian's hand didn't leave his cheek, "What I said still stands James…no false reality changes that." She stated, bringing a smile to both their faces, the young man reached out and wrapped his arms around Donna and pulled her into an embrace, her arms slid around his shoulders and returned the affection. Donna pulled back and planted a kiss on his lips, the two drew apart slightly to take in one another.

"I think I like the real thing over the exercise." Donna stated, James' cheeks warm up and causing her to giggle. "So…..neither of us can sleep…..what do we do about that?" she asked, she noticed her new boyfriend's cheeks become ever brighter at the implicating phrasing, "I mean-I didn't-not…you know what I mean right?" she asked, James nodding vigorously.

"Well…..I used to watch old movies to fall asleep." He suggested as he thought to when he was younger he would grab a VHS of a movie he's seen before and fall asleep to it.

Donna smiled, "That sounds nice…..care if I join you?" she asked coyly.

James smirked back as he slid his hands into her's, "I imagined you would. You see The Last Samurai?" he asked as they walked towards the exit to the gym, "Great sleeper movie." He added.

A hour later, James and Donna where fast asleep on the couches In the living room, the movie playing on the screen in the dark room. Blankets coered the pair, each of them took a couch and laid out on it, on floor of where the two seats touched, James held Donna's hand. Giving them both peaceful dreams for now.

 **AN: So yeah, Donna and James are now a thing…..which is kind of weird since in the comics Wally and Donna have something going on in the comics.**

 **This is one of my favorite episodes in the series, it showed that the team would never stop no matter how terrible things got.**

 **To those wondering, things are getting better with my situation at home. Though I probably should have clarified that I personally am not the one I'm talking about. However there was a slight hiccup with my loved one a few days ago, they're getting better now and hopefully should be home next week. And better yet their condition is treatable, and my family is behind them on helping the person in question beat what they have.**

 **(I'm sorry for being so vague but it's a family matter.)**

 **So, in other news the new Spidey Movie is next week (I know this is a DC story but Spidey is my man, sorry) and the new Batman movie will be a detective Noir inspired flick. And as we all know, best batman stories are mysteries.**

 **Now I have gotten a few asks on Donna Tory's backstory….due to certain events in DC Rebirth, her origin has been officially retconned a whooping five times or so by now. So, you're probably wondering what I'm going to do.**

 **I am going to simplify this poor character's origin story. Because seriously there are so many that it's hard to keep track. Seriously, look it up, that is the reason we never see Donna Troy in any animated appearance.**


	15. Chapter 15: Disordered

**Disordered**

 **October 23** **rd** **2010, 17:00 p.m. Mount Justice**

The week fallowing the failed training exercise had been a somber one. James could sense the sadness, the scarring, the anger, and all other emotions the others felt. They had been regularly checked up on by their mentors and family members, James had gotten calls from his parents and they offered him his old room if he felt like it.

He declined however, he could not run from this. Laura had also come by to talk, but none of it changed anything. James had all his friends die, even in simulation someone doesn't easily recover from a trauma such as that. He along with the others had gathered in the living room area of the cave, all of them in their civilian clothes. James sat on the counter of the kitchen facing the TV, behind him Kaldur crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned against the marble counter. Right beside James, Wally sat on a stool with his arms on the counter.

In the living room area, Robin sat near the arm of the couch against the wall with Donna on the other hand, her hands folding together in contemplation as she stared at the ground. Artemis was leaning against the back of the larger L shaped couch across from where Robin and Donna sat where the furniture turned at a right angle. In the kitchen M'gann was trying to make something for everyone to eat while they waited, but her heart wasn't in it. Leaning against the fridge was Conner, James looked back to see the clone looking at his girlfriend with sorrowful eyes.

Out of all of them, M'gann had put the most blame on herself, seeing herself as the root cause for everything going the way it did. The others knew this was not at all the case, it was a complete accident, but whatever words they could think of seemed not to measure up to the act committed.

That was what today was for.

The League had taken this as a sort of wake-up call, for all intents and purposes the Team was made up of teens. And this was not going to be the only time they experienced trauma, so Black Canary decided to act as the team's counselor to help deal with the events of the training exercise. The team drew straws to see who would go first, the order was James, Superboy, Artemis, Aqualad, Wally, Robin, and finally Donna.

James didn't really have a problem with therapy, in fact out of all his friends he thought he personally could use a little. But it was with Black Canary, their temporary Den Mother, and member of the Justice League. While it made sense to have another hero to talk to, but even though she stated that what was spoken would be between the two of them, history showed that secrets and the League are a tricky thing.

"James?" the tracker shook his head and turned to see Black Canary in the hallway entrance, he pushed himself off the counter and walked after the heroine. Looking back at his team, he gave them a small smile before disappearing into the hall. They soon arrived in a small private room, it was soundproof, had no cameras, and was completely private from the rest of the cave. The perfect place for sessions such as these.

The only furniture in the room were two comfortable green chairs facing one another with a waterfall against the back wall between them. Taking a seat in the one to the left, Canary sat across from him, crossing her legs she leaned back as James sat down. A few seconds of silence passed before James spoke, "So where do we start?' he asked, unsure of how exactly to begin.

"James, relax. You know you don't need to feel nervous." She said reassuringly, the tracker sighed tiredly. "James….we know that what happened in the exercise was traumatizing to everyone…..we know that you haven't been sleeping." She admitted, James ribbed the back of his head, he did as a matter of fact get some sleep, however he always woke up about a hour or so later. "The punching bags are getting fewer and fewer." She added with a bit of humor.

James smirked for a second, "Sorry I just…..I can't fall asleep so I just try to tire myself out….healing factor's a pain like that." He said sadly, Black Canary noticed the shift in his tone as he adverted his eyes to the side.

"Is that the only thing on your mind involving your power?" the heroine questioned, causing the young hero to stiffen slightly. "James….it's safe here to talk." She said reassuringly. James thought to when he divulged his berserker rage to the team, they were there for him, and Dinna herself went out of her way to help him. The thought of the Amazon made his heartrate speed up, then the heartache began to set in.

"My power is to have claws and stich myself back together…..I always thought it was useful. Means that I can keep fighting and nothing can really kill me…..but I mean…..I realize it's a double edged sword." He explained sadly, he thought back to when he first was healed by his powers, he was being clawed to death by a wild wolf and after killing it with his own claws he saw his wounds heal before his eyes. "I heal from anything…even after getting disintegrated by aliens apparently." He added.

He could feel himself beginning to reform after all that was left was his bones, it would take hours most likely but he still would have healed. Black Canary looked at him empathetically, "So you would have recovered…..after losing all of your friends." She realized, "That must be hard to deal with."

James didn't meet her eyes, "It's harder knowing the exact same damn thing is going to happen again." He said sadly, Canary's eyes widened when she realized what James was talking about. With his healing factor, it was possible that he might not age like his father. His body will keep him alive and running for as long as it possibly can, meaning he could live to be possibly centuries old and not age visibly.

But none of the others could do that, "Robin, Aqualad, Artemis, Wally, they would all die of old age while I looked like this….maybe a little older but still…..I'm going to live long enough to see all my friends die…what kind of power is that?" he asked with a bitterness in his voice. He saw it as a sick joke, what was the point of being able to live through anything when you run out of things to live for? If this is what Logan dealt with, then he understood why he left him with the Hudsons, living alone with no one forever sounded better than watching your friends pass of old age one by one.

James thought of Donna, she was a Amazonian, they could live for centuries provided that they don't die in battle, and M'gann is much older than she looks but is a teenager by earth standards, and Superboy might as well…but that was rationalizing keeping a handful of friends instead of all of them. And James hated that.

"James…..everyone deals with the idea of passing away at some point in their lives. But you're too young to think of that…..I know your situation makes this especially difficult." She said, trying to sympathize with the young hero, "But you know that you can't know that is how you'll life will be, in fact Laura's healing factor isn't preventing her from aging, it could be the same with you." She pointed out to the young adult. James thought on that, he supposed that was true, however that could also be so because Laura is a clone. He on the other hand was not, so it was a possibility. Black Canary leaned forward in her seat at James, "You're worrying about things that may never happen James, that's not healthy. If you focus on the 'what if's' in life then you'll let your own life fly by instead of enjoying it." She said wisely.

James felt little comfort with that statement, but she had a point. He couldn't let his worries and fears consume his life, "Still though…..how do I deal with that?" he asked, wondering how he was supposed to live with himself knowing that he might live long past all his friends.

"I'll be honest James, only you can answer that." The heroine said, causing the young man's head to bow in acceptance.

Standing from his seat, he thanked Canary and made his way out of the room back towards the lounge. Upon entering the room, all the other teen's eyes shifted to him, the young man simply shrugged, "I talked, she talked. And she gave me some pretty sound advice." He answered the unasked question of how was it. He looked over at Superboy, who looked less than pleased, James walked over and nudged him, "It's like a band aid, get it over with quickly and without flinching." He explained, the clone fought back the urge to sigh as he went to go get this over with.

While Superboy walked off towards the room James came from, the tracker walked over to the couch where Donna and Robin were sitting. Sitting down between the pair, Donna glanced over at him, leaning back into the seat, she unclasped her hands and laid them at her sides, her left on the arm of the couch and her right on the cushion between James and her.

James laid his hand down next to her's, his fingers touching the back of her hand. He could sense the Amazonian's mood shift from painful to slightly happy.

The couple had agreed that their relationship for the time being should be kept between them. Neither was ashamed by their status, however they both agreed that for one if either of their mentors found out that the results could be….mixed to say the least. James had heard that Amazons had grown more tolerant of mankind, however he wasn't sure what Wonder Woman's reaction to their dating would be.

And Donna was slightly worried that Laura might gut her for having a relationship with James.

Either way, they both were not jumping at the chance to tell their mentors, James more so since how his 'partnership' with Cheshire worked out. But it wasn't all bad, the small gestures they made such as this packed more meaning behind them due to the nature of their relationship. James didn't mind really, Donna didn't either but they both wouldn't mind being open about their relationship.

James picked up the sound of Superboy stomping off towards the hangar, he thought of going after the clone but knowing Conner, he was going to find his own way to deal with the emotions he was feeling in his own way. "Superboy just left." He said to the others, Artemis sighed before stepping off from the couch to get into her session.

 _It's going to be a long day._ James thought as he leaned further back into the couch.

III

O

It took about two hours before Donna stood up to take her session. Artemis, Robin, and Wally returned to their respective homes for the day, Superboy had yet to return however and from what Batman informed them, he rode Sphere out….in the form of a bike. Needless to say, the clone would have some explaining to do when he returned. As Donna sat down, Black Canary gave her a welcoming smile, "Donna, how are you?" she asked with genuine concern.

The Amazonian smiled at the leaguer, "All things considered…I'm doing fine." She said, "To be honest….I'm mostly relived that everyone is safe and sound." She said, thinking back to losing her friends one by one. She wept for Artemis, the two were close friends and she had watched her die before her very eyes, but when they learned there was a chance that not only her but the rest of the League might have surived, their spirits were lifted.

But then the revelation that they were indeed all dead….she was in shock until they felt James pass. It made her realize the situation that they were in, and that they were not getting out of there. "I Know that on Themacyria, you were raise as warriors, you were taught that death in battle is honorable. But that doesn't make it any less terrifying."

Donna looked down at the floor, "Yes…..it was." She admitted as she pulled her legs closed in front of the seat, "But….in a small way….I was a little relieved." She admitted, causing Canary to give her a concerned look, "It's not that I crave death, but more…my friends were dead…..and the only way I would see them again was if I joined them." She explained as she looked down from Canary's eyes, "It's a small comfort I know…..but it helped when…" she trailed off.

Black Canary gave the young woman a sorrowful look, "No one, especially you or the team, should have gone through what you did," she said, making Donna press her lips firmly together. Canary noticed, "It's to be mad Donna, what happened wasn't planned but knowing that you were made up to fail-"

"It's not right." Donna interrupted, "On the island, we're supposed to help our sisters rise above mistakes. And it's not just there, here all my friends have never tried to belittle my or anyone else's efforts. But then we are set up to fail by our leaders…..I am angry." She admitted as her brow furrowed. 'My friends…..my family, they were killed because we were made to fail….I find it hard to forgive that." She explained.

Donna didn't realize her hands were digging into the arms of the chair until she heard the wood under the cloth begin to strain. Releasing her grasp, she took a calming breath, Black Canary witnessed the whole thing, with a mournful look on her face. "You have a right to be angry Donna. But the exercise, in essence, was supposed to teach the team how to deal with failure. Failure is a part of life, and in this line of work…..failure has a great cost." She explained.

Donna shut her eyes and calmed herself, "I know…but even knowing that doesn't help." She replied, "I was lied to, we all were. That shows you still don't trust us." She explained to the Leaguer. "I just….I don't want to lose them." She said.

Black Canary folded her hands together, "Diana told me, about how you two first met." She started, "Your family moved into a brownstone in New York….but there was a fire. And when Diana came to the rescue, you were the only one on the floor. She brought you Paradise Island when she couldn't find your family…..and now that you've found another one you don't want to lose them." She surmised.

Donna didn't answer. After that fire she lived on Themyscira until the trails of Wonder so that she could enter the world once again.

"I want to protect my friends….that's all." Donna replied simply, her mind however lingered on her and James' confession in the exercise. She could still feel the texture of her soft lips against his, the touch of their skin against one another, it was a large comfort in there but outside of that, when they're together in a corner where the cameras of the cave can't see the two of them?

It's so much more than simple comfort.

However, as these thoughts went through the Amazon's mind, Canary noticed the far off look in the Amazonian's eyes, the woman smiled to herself. "Your friends…anyone in particular?" she gambled.

"W-What?! No? No!' she quickly denied, Canary's face showed she didn't buy it. Donna felt her cheeks heat up, "I…..might…."

"Donna, this isn't a bad thing. And if you're worried about Diana then you have nothing to worry about. Trust me." She reassured the amazon as she crossed her arms over her chest. Seeing that Donna wasn't going any further on the subject, Canary dropped it. "Ok, I understand…is there anything else?" she asked, Donna shook her head, "Well, if you ever need to talk, I'm here for you."

Donna smiled at her, "Thank you." She said gratefully before standing up and walking towards the door. Exiting the room she made her way towards the lounge, as she walked down the hall however, she noticed the door to the boiler room was slightly open.

Peering inside, she opened the door and entered the room. Crossing the catwalk over the boilers and other machines, she floated over the railing and onto the ground floor. Taking a few steps forward she felt someone tap her shoulder, turning around she saw a smiling James. "Hey." He greeted simply, bringing a smile to the Amazon's face before they wrapped their arms around each other in a embrace. His lips found hers and stayed there for a moment before pulling apart, "So….was it bad?" he asked, wondering how her session with Canary went.

Donna sighed tiredly, "A little….but you were right….it helped." She admitted. James raised his hand and brushed some stray hair off her jaw and caressed her cheek, "So…..what now?" she asked.

"Well I was going to wait for Superboy to get back with the Super Cycle, Wally's idea, but Batman is already doing that." He explained, making a small giggle escape the warrior's lips. James lowered his hand from her face to her and pulled her back towards the machines, "So I thought of you…..and how we've been together for a week and I haven't taken you out yet." He pointed out.

Sadly the pair haven't been able to leave the cave for a date, partially because of the shock over the training exercise, and also in part that they were still finding their footing in their new relationship. "I don't mind.' She said, before a mirthful smirk crossed her lips, "Besides, I kind of like sneaking round like this…..adds some danger to it." She explained as James turned to her as she pushed him towards the back of the room, Donna took the lead and pushed James towards the wall, the tracker's back pressed against the stone wall.

Donna's mouth captured his, James's hands slid into her jacket and around her waist to pull her closer to him. James felt her pull away slightly to take a breath before pecking him on the lips once again, James smiled as she pulled away, "I….really like doing that." He admitted, making them both smile.

"Good to hear." She said, her hand sliding up the wall beside James's head as she leaned her face close to his, "I'll be honest, I expected that you would be more…..forward with me. Physically." She explained playfully. James smirked at that, with arm still wrapped around her waist James turned them around and switched their positions so that Donna was against the wall, when their eyes met, Donna smirked before leaning in and kissing him again.

 _Beep! Beep!_

James pulled away and groaned in annoyance when he heard the communicator in his ear go off, Donna sighed, "Sorry." He apologized. Donna shrugged understandingly, James stepped back and pressed his hand to the communicator in his ear, "This is James Hudson." He greeted to the caller.

 _"_ _Hey sweetheart.'_ His mother greeted on the other end of the line, James smiled. _'Just wanted to know if you're still up for dinner tonight. I'm making Italian."_ She bargained with her son.

James looked over at Donna, biting his lip he decided to try a gamble, "One sec mom." He said before taking his finger off the comm, looking at Donna he smiled, "Hey….you want to come to my house for dinner?" he offered to the amazon. Her eyes widened in surprise, she felt herself smile.

"I….yes…are you sure it's ok?" she asked, somewhat shocked by the sudden question.

James shrugged, "Let's find out." He said before tapping the com again, "Hey mom, would it be ok if brought a friend from my team to dinner?" he asked politely. His mother and father had been asking about his life on the team, while he didn't tell them about his missions in detail, he had been telling them that his friends on the Team were really close with him.

 _"_ _Sure hon! I'll get another plate out for them. And it's casual ok? No dress up. Eight o'clock got it?"_ Heather added over the line.

James smiled, "Alright, got it. Eight. I'll arrive with them. See you then mom." He said before hanging up the phone, turning to Donna he saw she was still smiling, "Sorry to just throw that out there but…..like I said, I haven't taken you out on a date." He explained with a shrug.

Donna however simply beamed at him, "Are you sure though? I just…..we both wanted to keep….this….to ourselves." She pointed out.

James nodded as he rubbed the back of his head, "I know but that's the League. This is my mom and dad….trust me, they won't say a thing." He said, though upon seeing the unsure look on Donna's face he realized he was assuming that she wanted them to know. "But as far as they know, you're one of my teammates. Nothing more." He explained, "If you want, we can keep it that way." He offered, understanding the desire to keep their relationship private.

Donna smiled, "Thank you…..but…I don't know yet." She said truthfully, "I want to meet them first before we decide to let them know." The Amazonian reasoned. Truth be told she was somewhat excited to meet James's parents, but she wanted to get to know them first before they found out she and James were together.

James nodded, reaching his hand out he squeezed hers and flashed her a smile, "I understand…..I need to go clean myself up." He said as he made his way towards the catwalk staircase, however as he walked out from in between the machines, Donna grabbed him by the back of his shirt and flew both of them up to the door to the boiler room.

"Thought I'd give you a lift." Donna said before pecking him on the cheek before walking out of the room. Waiting a few minutes, James fallowed her out and headed for his room to clean up.

* * *

 **October 23** **rd** **2010, 20:00 p.m. Hudson residence**

James had showered, shaved, and brushed his teeth before meeting Donna in the Hanger, getting on his bike they drove through the zeta tube. Arriving in Toronto the pair drove the rest of the way to the house, parking in the driveway and setting the bike up the couple walked up to the front stoop. Knocking on the door, James noticed Donna tense up slightly but he nudged her with his elbow to ease her worries.

The door opened with a blonde ten standing in the doorway, as soon as he saw James he smirked, "You look like crap." Sam stated.

"Still look better than you." James replied, the two-stood silent for a moment before Sam stepped forward and embraced him, James returning the favor, "Good to see you Sammy." He greeted with a smile as he patted his younger brother's back. Pulling away Sammy then saw the young woman standing beside his step brother, "Sammy this is Donna, friend of mine." He introduced, looking back at Sammy however he saw the awestruck look on his face.

Donna smiled and gave a nod, "It's nice to meet you Sam." She greeted warmly as she held her hand out to shake Sammy's, the younger brother quickly reached out with both hands and shook her hand with enthusiasm.

"I-wow, it's nice to meet beautiful-YOU. It's nice to meet you!" he corrected himself as James snickered to himself, Sam glared at his brother for the comment but Donna giggled, making him forget instantly. Finally letting go of Donna's hand he stepped aside so that the pair could enter.

Walking through the house, Donna's eyes roamed household, she had yet to be inside a actual home before now, the living room was welcoming with a warm glow from the lamp on the ceiling, there was a couch against the wall with a TV across the room with a short table in front of the couch. "Hey mom, Jimmy's here." Sammy called out to their mother, James gave his brother a look. He noticed that Donna was fighting down a laugh.

"Jimmy?" she asked.

James rolled his eyes, "I went by it when I was a kid." He explained, Donna's laugh died in her throat but she still was smiling at him. He sighed, he really hoped she wouldn't tell anyone about that. From the kitchen, Heather looked out from the doorway and smiled, James rubbed the back of his head, "Hey mom." He greeted before his mother walked over and wrapped him up in a hug, pulling back he turned his mother to Donna who was giving her a friendly smile, "Mom, this is Donna, she's on the team with me." He introduced.

Heather smiled at her before wrapping her up in a hug, Donna eagerly returned it, "So nice to meet you!" she greeted warmly, Donna smiled at the mother's friendly nature. Heather turned her attention to the two boys, "You two go get your father, he's in the study. Donna why don't you take a seat?" she offered the couch to the Amazonian as James and Sam walked out of the room and started down the hall.

Sam looked back to make sure they were out of earshot before pulling James aside, "Ok how the hell did you meet her?" he asked as they stopped in the hallway, "I mean…..DAMN man! She's….." he tried to find the right word.

"Beautiful. Yeah. I noticed. And she's from Paradise Island." He explained, making Sam's eyes widen in shock before a huge smile spread across his face. "Before you say anything. Keep in mind she has super strength." He pointed out to his younger brother, making his thought process pause. On one hand, it would be totally worth it…on the other I like my body in one piece.

"So…..mom told me some weird stuff happened." Sam began, making James sigh as he leaned against the wall opposite of his brother. It shouldn't be a surprise, Laura told his parents about what happened so it made sense that Sam might know what happened as well.

James sighed, "We had this….exercise." he began, before going on to explain what happened in a simplified version of events. "-and then we had our counseling session today and got some advice about how to deal with what happened." He finished, Sam had a slightly horrified look on his face.

"Jesus dude…..are you ok?" he asked, having trouble imagining what that must feel like, to have all your friends die.

James sighed, "I'm…..dealing with it….just something you deal with." He explained before pushing off the wall and walking down the hall with Sam right behind him. Opening the door to his father's study, he looked inside to see his father sitting behind the desk on his computer, "Hey dad." He greeted, the man looked up and smiled warmly.

Getting up from his desk he walked over and embraced his son, "Hey yourself." He greeted to his son. The two pulled away and walked out of the room down the hall towards the living room where Heather and Donna where talking, James took solace that she didn't get the baby pictures out….yet. Sitting down at the dinner table the family and guest passed out food.

"So Donna, tell us about yourself. Where are you from?" Heather asked as she handed the basket of bread to James, the young man took a few slices and put them on his plate along with the spaghetti.

"Well…originally I was from New York, but when I was younger I moved to a Themyscira. I joined the Team a few weeks ago and meet James and them after they had a mission." She explained to the family, James knew that Donna wasn't originally from Themyscira but she didn't talk much about her life outside the team. It was nice to see her open up a little more about her life.

"That's the island of all women, right?" his mother asked, Donna nodded before taking bite of a meatball and humming in appreciation of the food. Heather noticed her delight in the food and smiled, "Glad you like the food dear, have as much as you want." She offered, making the amazon smile with her cheeks puffed out from the food in her mouth.

"So James, what have you been up to?" Jerry asked his son before taking a drink of water. The last time he had seen his son was after he came to check up on him after the Wendigo incident, he seemed somewhat off then but now he seemed different. But it was clear that there was still something on his mind at the moment.

James scratched the back of his head, "Not much really, no missions lately but you never know when we'll get one." He explained, "I have been learning some Japanese though." He added. His learning of the language was slow coming but it was better than it had been, at least now he could ask where the bathroom was without second guessing himself.

"You know I think you're the only guy I know whose Canadian Japanese…..man that's a weird combo not that I think about it." Sam said aloud.

"Love is love sweetie. Doesn't matter who you fall for." Heather said in a knowing tone, James found him and Donna look at one another from across the table. Their cheeks heated up before looking back down at their food. Heather however caught the shared glance and smiled, "So what's going on with you two?" she asked, making them both nearly choke on their food.

James cleared his throat before speaking, "Well…..we….um….well…." he tried to come up with something. However he was at a loss for words at the moment and couldn't come up with a plausible response. Donna however gave him a small smile and nod, "We'll…..we um…..ma and Donna…" he started, he saw his father smile at him and his brother's jaw drop, "Aw hell you all figured it out by now." He grumbled as he folded his arms over his chest.

Donna had to cover her mouth to hold back the chuckle at seeing James pout, "So I'm assuming no one else knows….not even Laura?"

"No!" the couple both said, "And you can't tell her. Or Wonder Woman….or Batman. Especially not Batman." James added, Donna nodding in agreement with him. Laura and Diana would be bad sure but Batman…..well everyone was a little scared of Batman.

* * *

After finishing dinner, James helped clean the dishes with his mother and brother while Donna went out onto the back patio. Sitting on the steps she looked out to the woods surrounding the house. It was calming really, the stillness of the evening and the silence of the night. She heard the door slide open behind her, turning around she saw James close the door behind him, "Well what did you think of dinner at the Hudson residence?" he asked

The amazon smiled at him as he took a seat beside her, "….my mom and dad really like you." He said happily, making her smile. She had seen firsthand that the Hudsons were a welcoming family, but she was simply happy that they liked her…..who knows, she might be a part of the family one day.

"And I really like your mother's cooking. I might need to think of bringing some Back to Themyscira next time I visit." She said happily. While the island was a paradise by most standards, it didn't have all the luxuries that the modern world had.

"Imagine if you showed up with a pair of bunny slippers, they'd probably praise you for the kill…..either that or think I turned you crazy." James said, mentally picturing how the warrior women would react to the sight of something so common in his world.

Donna's laugh made him smile, "They're missing out on a few things. You know whenever my Queen visits the UN she never stays in a hotel or anything? She stays on the boat they take there." She explained with a small sigh, thinking back to her conversation with Black Canary earlier today. James noticed the saddened look o her face and reached his arm out and wrapped it around her shoulder comfortingly. "I um…..I never told you how I got to Themyscira did I?" she asked.

He shook his head, she repeated what Canary had said, how Wonder Woman had saved her from a fire and couldn't find either her mother or father, and how to this day she still didn't know the whereabouts of her family. James was quiet after she finished her story, "You ever thought of trying to track them down?" he questioned.

Donna shook her head, "The building I was saved from lost all files on their residents. Last I heard they're still trying to rebuild it." She explained as she laid her head on his shoulder, "No trace, no way to track them down if I wanted to."

"You realize that you're boyfriend is a grade A tracker right?" he asked, making her head rise up and turn to him wide eyed. James nodded, "Donna…..family is important. Alright this right here? All this, this is why I do what I do to protect them." He explained as he gestured back to the house. "I want to help you Donna…..I'd do this even if we didn't know one another." He said truthfully, making the Amazonian smile brightly at him, her hands reached to the sides of his face and brought him in for a brief kiss.

Pulling him back, they both stared into one another's eyes before Donna spoke, "Thank you….but with everything that's been going on lately….I just want more of this." She explained as her hand pressed against his chest while she laid her head back down on his shoulder. "Before we go off on something like that."

James nodded, "I get it….might take a while…..we could make a little road trip of it. Get you a bike, two of us tracking your family down." He offered jokingly.

"I can fly…but I won't say no." she said happily as the appealing idea.

The pair sat in silence from then on, simply savoring the feeling of their embrace. Neither of them noticing the Hudson family taking pictures from the back window.

* * *

 **October 24** **th** **2010, 2:45 a.m.**

James and Donna returned to the cave on the bike, when they drove through the Zeta tube and entered the hangar. Stopping the bike they saw that Sphere was back, which meant that Conner had returned as well. "Well at least I don't need to track him acoss the east coast again." James muttered aloud as Donna climbed off his bike, James thinking back to the Amazo mission when Superboy went out on his own.

Donna elbowed him slightly, "Just be nice to him….he must have had a hard time of it if he had to leave." She pointed out as James dismounted his motorcycle. The tracker nodded in understanding as he put his helmet on the seat and walked with Donna towards the living quarters.

"So….how was your first date?" he asked in a whisper so that no one could hear them, with Superboy having hearing as good as James's they could never be too careful as to who could hear them.

Donna smiled at him, "Perfect…you know Conner and Megan were talking about something called a Halloween Party at their school. I'll probably go….soon as I find out what Halloween is exactly." She explained, muttering the last part to herself as James's eyes widened, how did no one explain that to her!?

"Donna…tomorrow we're having a movie marathon." He said, thinking of the perfect movies for this time of year. Also grinning to himself at the thought of how Donna would react to some of them.

 **AN: Another chapter down. Now the reason I didn't have James tag along with Superboy on this one was because that was Conner's journey to go on. Not James's. And I'm sure that you've all noticed that Donna also took center stage here.**

 **Now just for some context, Donna's origin has been changed a number of times, that was her second origin that was explained in Teen Titans comics. But it's been changed so many times since that DC Rebirth di yet another retcon in the Titans Annual this past year.**

 **Anyway, until next time everyone!**


	16. Chapter 16: Secrets

**Secrets**

 **Canada, Hudson Residence. October 31** **st** **, 2010, 19:00 p.m.**

"I can't believe she talked me into this." James said as his mother finished applying the correct amount of makeup to his face. Donna had convinced him to attend the Happy Harbor Highschool dance with her, normally he would do this without any objection, however her suggestion was that they both attend with corresponding costumes. Again, he had no problem with this…. until he found out who he was going as that was.

Heather chuckled to herself as James stood from his seat in full costume, "Well it could be worse Frankenstein." She said, making James frown. Donna had chosen the two of them go as both Frankenstein and his bride, James wore an old wool suit jacket with a black shirt and pants with thick heavy boots. His skin was painted green by his mother and she had even procured a set of fake bolts for the sides of his neck along with several painted-on stables going across his hairline. His hair had also gotten a much needed trim, it wasn't styled like the monster thankfully, instead it was a little long in the front so that he could comb his hair if needed.

Thankfully his brown hair wasn't altered aside from being combed up to show his brow more, "Donna so owes me for this." He grumbled out as he made his way through the house to the front door, Heather beaming at her son as she followed him outside, passing the pumpkin on the porch, "I can't even put my helmet on because it'll mess up the hair, not to mention I'm wearing makeup." He complained before sighing, "Why am I doing this again?" he asked aloud as he slid onto his bike.

"Because Donna asked you too." Heather said knowingly, James blushed under the makeup. "Just be happy your brother isn't here to make fun. Or that you're going as something silly." She said reassuringly, making James smile. Heather pecked him in his hair, "Have fun sweetie." She said, her son nodding before starting his bike and driving out of the driveway and turning down the road.

The nearest Zeta tube was a fake wall in Toronto, hopefully he could get there before anyone saw his costume.

* * *

 **Happy Harbor Rode Island. October 31** **st** **, 2010, 19:26 p.m.**

James felt a small amount of dread as the Zeta Tube read his credentials, entering the mission room just as Wally let out his best interpretation of a werewolf's howl while Wolf laid down on the floor close by. Wally looked down at the canine when it didn't react to his howl, "Seriously? Nothing?" he asked, surprised that didn't garner a reaction from the oversized canine, Wally had fake fur around his face and a varcity jacket on with jeans and tenner shoes. James rolled his eyes before spotting Superboy sitting on a bench while M'gann wrapped the clone up in bandages, trying to make him look like a mummy.

"Wally stop patronizing him." Conner called out to the speedster upon seeing him tease his pet, the Kryptonian saw James and smirked, "Nice makeup." He commented as James walk towards the others.

Wally had to cover his mouth to avoid outright laughing at his friend's appearance, "Say one word West and I'll pop a claw where the sun doesn't shine." He threatened as he walked past Wally, "Donna's idea, where is she anyway?" he asked, wanting to know where exactly his girlfriend was.

"She's almost finished. Oh! That reminds me, my costume." Megan said as she stood and shifted her clothes and appearance into what she planned on going as for the party. Her normal clothes shifted into something that resembled a wedding gown but it was tattered and dirty, her skin had become white with dark rings around her eyes. She made a pose and let out a throaty growl that resembled a undead creature.

The trio looked at her impressed, "Babe. You can eat by brains anytime." Wally shamelessly flirted, causing James to elbow him.

"Great minds think alike." The four turned to see Captain Marvel, wearing makeup similar as to what M'gann had used her powers to simulate. James cocked an eye at that, that was just weird. Over time he realized that Captain Marvel was…..eccentric, wanting to spend time with the team like a little kid, but this was strange. Even for him.

As the Zeta Beams teleported Artemis and Zatanna, James heard a low 'Psst' coming from the hall leading to the living quarters. Slipping away from the others as they asked if Captain Marvel was attending a party as well, James walked down the hall until he was well out of sight of the team, he could smell Donna's scent in the air. He could feel someone behind him, he smiled as a pair of arms wrapped around his neck, "Greetings my darling monster, you look terrifying." Donna said as James turned around to greet her, his eyes widened when he saw her costume.

Her costume was much more better looking than his was, the dress was completely white and clung to her sides down to her ankles where she was barefooted. Her arms were gently wrapped with see through cloth that slightly hung off her bicep and forearm, being tied off on her wrists. Like him she had makeup on as well, ruby red lipstick and painted on stiches that curved with her cheeks, she also had on her hair done up as the creature from the film with white extensions streaking through her hair.

"You look beautiful." He said with a large smile, Donna blushed at his praise before leaning in and pecking him on the cheek, "But wouldn't you like some footwear?" he asked, looking down at her bare feet, the amazon chuckled.

"It's called accuracy. Though I am happy to see you didn't make your hair up like the monster." She said, dragging her hand through his hair. "I like your hair this way. It can be formal-" she sued her fingers to brush his hair over to the right, "-or wild." She added as she simply messed it up, giving him a more feral appearance. James smiled as he bowed his head, brushing his hair back into place he took her hand and held it between them.

Donna smiled back at him, "So is Robin coming? I didn't see him out there and I imagine Gotham on Halloween is kind of…..dangerous." he said, thinking to a few years ago when he heard about a killer who started on Halloween and murdered on every holiday for a year before he was caught. Reasons like this made him wonder why anyone lived in a city like that. Of course that was before a guy in clown makeup started offing people in a mixture of hilarious and grousome ways

Donna shook her head as they made their way towards the mission rom, hand in hand, "No I think he said something about meeting Kaldur, Red Arrow, and Batman." She explained, making James frown slightly, Donna gave him a certain look, "I know you don't like him but Red Arrow is a former comrade, trust me I know what it's like dealing with someone who has a bad attitude. But if you get past that? Then most of the time they're a good person." She said knowingly.

James sighed as they walked into the mission room just as Artemis and Zatanna, in costume, walked down the hall that went towards the hangar. James slipped his hand out of hers longingly, "So should we get going….wait where did Marvel go?" he asked, noticing that the Leaguer was gone.

"Oh he said something about going trick or treating…..I'm not sure if he was serious or what." Wally explained as he rubbed the back of his head, James crocked a eye at that, maybe he was taking some kids trick or treating? "Woah, Donna, nice costume." Wally greeted with a smile.

James had to hold back a chuckle as Donna rolled his eyes, "Flattery will get you nowhere West." She commented dryly as the group made their way towards the Hangar. Donna glanced over at James who was giving her a smirk, "You on the other hand….we'll see." She said, giving him a flirtatious wink. The two reached for each other's hands as they slowed to the back of the group where they shared their hidden affection towards each other.

Entering the hangar, the team saw both Zatanna and Artemis ready a pair of bikes to go through the Zeta Tube. "Where are you guys going? I thought you were going to the party?" James asked as he and Donna untangled their hands, the pair breaking off from the group and approaching the two girls.

Artemis shrugged, "Wasn't feeling it. Figure I might as well do something with my time." She said curtly as she walked over to her bike and pushed it towards the Zeta Tube. James's bike was there as well, he had told the others that he didn't mind anyone using his, and with Zatanna not having one he was more than ok with her using his for the time being.

Donna and James looked at each other curiously as Zatanna approached them, "I might have spilled the beans on Conner and M'gann…..wait you guys know too right?" she asked, hoping that she didn't slip up and re-spill the beans. The pair nodded, making the sorceress let out a relived sigh, "Good, didn't want to slip that up again. Suffice to say she's….less than pleased." James involuntarily winced, if there was one thing he avoided it was love triangles. Out the corner of his eye he noticed that Donna was looking at the archer with a sorrowful look.

"Best thing we can do is let her blow some steam. She'll be fine….right?" he asked Donna, he knew how to handle his anger but everyone was different. Donna for instance trained until she was no longer frustrated, James found that meditation helped him out when he needed to relax. Either that or slice something apart with his own two claws until he felt better…..it was more often the later. Donna however gave him a knowing look, James could see the young woman wanted to help the archer with her anger. He sighed, "Go on, go be a good friend. I'll head out with the others." He said, giving her nudge with his elbow.

Donna's eyes widened in surprise for a moment before softening, "Thanks…..sorry for getting you all dressed up for nothing." she apologized, going to the party was her idea in the first place. Though if he was to be honest he would have gone if anyone invited him, he was a little disheartened that Donna wouldn't attend, but he figured that he could still have some fun.

James simply shrugged, "I'll be fine. Have fun with your ladies night." He said as he walked off towards the bioship to join the others.

The amazon smiled at her boyfriend, as he left, Zatanna raised her hands up and chanted, **"Puekam reh evomer dna sehtolc s'annoD egnahc!"** she casted, a plume of smoke encircling Donna. As the smoke cleared, Donna looked over her clothes to see that she had changed into her costume, and that the makeup and accessories she was wearing before were now gone.

"Wow…..that's much faster than just going to my room to change." She said as she lifted up into the air as Zatanna and Artemis mounted their motorcycles. Donna cracked her knuckles, "Now then ladies, shall we?" she asked, getting a nod from both her friends before the Zeta Tube turned on. As Zatanna and Artemis drove their bikes through the portal Donna flew through it overhead, James watched from the Bioship with a small smile.

* * *

 **Manhattan, October 31** **st** **2010, 19:57**

The trio of heroines had been traversing through the city since they arrived by the Zeta Tube, they were on the lookout for any smalltime crimes in progress, muggings, robberies, and the like. Zatanna and Artemis pulled to a stop outside a museum with cop cars parked out front. Donna flew overhead and landed between the pair, 'Whatever happened here is over. I want some action." The archer complained aloud.

"Yeah I thought New York was supposed to be crime ridden." Donna added, "No, wait, that's Gotham I'm thinking of." She muttered.

Zatanna rolled her eyes at the two, "Or, maybe what you need is to talk. About Conner and Megan? Or anything?" she suggested to the archer, her response was to drive ahead, leaving the other two ladies behind. "Wow, she really opened up didn't she?" the sorceress asked dryly.

Donna gave her a blank look, "Artemis is a…..guarded person. She'll open up….one day." She said hopefully before taking off after the archer with Zatanna driving below her. As the two fallowed the blonde from a distance, giving her some space that she seemed to want for the moment, "So has your father reconsidered you joining the team?" she asked, Zatara had protested that his daughter join the team on a regular basis.

Zatanna sighed, "No. I mean I get why, he's just being protective, and I get why but I can take care of myself. Besides I'd be with you guys. It could be worse." She pointed out as they turned a corner. Zatanna smiled at her friend, "Sorry you got dragged you away from your date." She said, when she noticed Donna's surprised expression, she gave the Amazonian a blank look, "You two went as a monster movie couple. I connected the dots pretty quickly." She explained as Artemis saw someone robbing a couple near a ATM, she drew her bow and fired a net arrow at the robber.

Donna felt like smacking her forehead, that was obvious when she put it that way, "Just don't tell X-23. Or Diana."

Zatanna squinted her eyes slightly, "Ok I get why you wouldn't want X-23 to know but Wonder Woman?"

"I'm like a little sister to her. Could you imagine what she'd do?" Donna asked, making the magician in training let out a sound of understanding. Looking ahead she saw a pair of thieves run out from a store with the alarms inside going off, the Amazon flew ahead, reaching the two she spin kicked one into the other. The pair landed in a pile together, Donna grabbed their weapons and crushed them with her bare hands before flying after the other girls.

Soon the girls arrived at central park, the sight of four men in hoods that hid their faces caught their attention, they figured that it would be safe to tail them.

When they saw a young woman surround by a group of four men underneath a walkway bridge. They dismounted their bikes as Donna rocketed towards the men, **"Etativel reh!"** Zatara called out, making the woman rise up into the air out of harm's way. The thugs turned to the sound of the voice to see Donna strike one directly in the face as Artemis preformed a rising knee on another and flipped over their head, kicking them down to the ground while still in midair.

Donna landed a right hook on another before kicking his legs out from underneath him, the four laid in the dirt defeated. Donna however put the sole of her boot on one's chest, "So what exactly made you and your friends that it was nice to attack this woman?" she asked, the man let out a muffled sound, "I thought so." She mattered before dropping her knee onto his face before standing up as the woman who was in danger was gently out down back to solid ground by Zatanna. "You should call nine one one, they won't be getting up anytime soon but wait by the street just to be safe." Donna instructed, the woman nodded before running off with her phone towards the road.

Donna and Artemis shared a smile, Zatanna joined them in walking back to their bikes, they had parked outside the park on the side of the road. Donna craned her head back and cracked her neck, "That was immensely satisfying. We need to do this more often." She said proudly as they approached the bikes.

Zatanna gave them an unsure look, "There were easier ways to take them." She said to the pair.

Artemis however shrugged, "They had it coming, no harm no foul." She said nonchalantly, as they neared the bikes however, they exploded! Sending the trio flying back and into the pavement. Donna shook her head as the ringing in her ears began to subside, she looked up to the flames to see someone walk out from the flames, it was a man with long brown hair, his skin was extremely pale with four claw marks across his left eye. He had an open white trench coat with a leather strap across hs chest. He wore black fingerless gloves and pants with black shoes.

"No, harm is not done. Much harm left to do." He said as the three got up off the ground.

 _James is not going to be happy about his bike._ The Amazonian thought as she readied herself to fight as the man continued towards them. It was at that point she noticed the sword sheath in his left hand and the sword in his right. "No….that's-"

"Ah. It knows the sword doesn't it? It know that it is doomed." The man said, making Donna grit her teeth as her friends looked at her.

"Wonder Girl what's the crazy man talking about?" Artemis asked as she cocked an arrow and fired it at him, he swung his sword through the air and sliced the arrow in midair, and continued his stride forward towards the three young women.

"It's the sword of Beowulf, it's a powerful and dark weapon. You need to be pure to wield it. Only pure is subjective." She explained before leaping forward with a battle cry. She threw a punch that he batted away using the sword on her bracer before thrusting his sword at her, she raised her other arm and gauntlet to parry the sword with one had and upper cutting him with the other. However he dodged the fallow up by backflipping away. Donna grabbed her lasso and threw it out towards he swordsman, he used the sheath of the sword to bat it away before it could wrap around him.

Donna pulled the lasso back with a sneer as Harm stalked towards the trio, Zatanna raised her hand out towards him, **"Erif nrub, nordlauc elbbub!"** she chanted, causing a large fire to spread out and trap Harm in a circle. The Magician grabbed Donna by the arm and pulled her towards an ally, "Fight later run now!" she yelled as she led the amazon and the archer down an alleyway.

"Nice one!" Artemis Complimented as the three got some distance from Harm.

Zatanna smiled and nodded, "Thanks, something I've been working on since Red-" she started before Artemis and Donna caught sight of someone waving to them, it was a young girl, no older than possibly thirteen, with white hair and pale skin covered by a white cloak over a dark sweater with a necklace.

"Wait who is that?" Artemis asked as Donna took off into the air and flew towards the girl as she disappeared behind the corner, rounding to the side of the building she stopped abruptly when she found herself in a dead end just as Artemis and Zatanna ran around the corner after her, "Where did she go?" the archer asked before a ladder descended beside them. The trio looked up to see the girl waving to them on the roof of the building beside them with a fire escape leading up to the top.

Donna wrapped her arms around her friends and flew up the side of the building to the roof, landing on the surface they saw the girl waiting for them. "Thank you…you wouldn't happen to know that man would you?" Zatanna asked as she approached the girl.

"Secret." She replied simply.

Artemis shook her head as she and Donna joined Zatanna, "That won't cut it, we need answers. Do you know harm? Does he have any weaknesses?" she asked the young girl, peppering her with questions. The fact that she ran into them seconds after they meet Harm seemed like too big a coincidence, however the girl pointed past the trio to the fire escape where Harm had jumped up onto the roof from.

"Well he's fast. I'll give him that." Artemis said before cocking an arrow back and firing it at a nearby water tower, piercing the side the water poured out of the side and splashed over Harm. **"Wolb sdniw dloC!"** Zatanna ordered, causing a freezing Window to blow past her and freeze the water around their attacker, trapping him within a large block of ice. However this proved to be a fruitless effort as Harm burst out from the ice prison.

Donna glared at the fighter, _I should have gone with James to the Dance._ She thought before charging in to fight once again.

* * *

 **Happy Harbor High School, October 31** **st** **, 20:02 p.m.**

James couldn't lie…..he felt a little out of place.

For one thing, everyone was dressed up for Halloween not as monsters, fictional characters, or even anything complex like two people in a horse costume. No instead, everyone was dressed up as superheroes…..the irony of which was not lost on him. James and the others had been introduced to some of Conner and M'gann's classmates, they seemed like very nice people, though Conner and Mal seemed to get along as well as oil did with water. Mal's girlfriend Karen, the only person wearing an original costume, reassured him that the two got along well enough.

However the costumes did lead to the four of them having a fun time, "Ok dude under the disco ball in Green Lantern costume." Wally said, tilting his head over to the costumed teen. James had made with a activity, seeing how many people dressed up as a single hero, "That brings it up to six." The speedster said, gaining a lead.

Megan gave him a curious look, "Wait are you counting both Green Lanterns? Because you need to choose one." She pointed out before noticing another girl dressed up in a Wonder Woman outfit, "Oh! Fifth Wonder Woman." He cheered to herself.

Conner smirked, "She's right Wally, pick one and stick with it….and that's the tenth Superman costume…I think." He said, nodding over to a girl who wore a Superman styled costume but with a mask over her face. "Still better than Mal's." he muttered under his breath, the Kryptonian clone disliked the tights his 'father' wore but he also knew that he was the most famous hero.

"And to tally up, that's ten Supermen, Five Wonder Women, FOUR Green Lanterns," Wally frowned in defeat at that, "And my ten Batmen." The tracker said with a grin that quickly disappeared. "I'm kind a surprised there isn't a single Wolverine costume." He added.

Wally elbowed the feral tracker with his unbroken arm, "Aw what's the matter? Sad your not popular?"

"Overcompinsating because no one is Kid Flash?" James responded, making M'gann and Conner cover their mouths to hold back their laughs. "…..truce?" he asked, Wally nodded, but not before elbowing him again. James smiled at the speedster, he and Wally might take shots at one another but they both knew it was all in good fun. _Wonder if Donna is having as much 'fun' as we are?_ James thought before the lights and music suddenly cut out. _Well, it wouldn't mind her being here with me now._ The tracker thought jokingly.

The red lights came on a moment later, with people's cell phones going off with messages. Mutterings of an Alien Invasion began. James frowned, an Alien Invasion was the absolute last thing he wanted to hear, especially as a dumb prank. _'Attention. Homeland Security advises that you all stay inside the gymnasium. This is not a confirmation of an Alien Invasion.'_ The speaker system said, however James quirked a brow as the announcement ended.

 _'_ _Hold on, you guys find it weird that it specifically said the gymnasium? And didn't say stay in your homes or something?'_ James asked across the telepathic link through M'gann they all shared. The trio seemed to catch his meaning, that didn't sound like an official statement in any way, _'Hold on….Conner you hear that?'_ the tracker asked, his hearing picking up another voice along with the next announcement.

The clone picked up what James had, a voice saying the exact same words with the speakers in tandem. Using his thermal vision, he scanned the area for the heat signature that belonged to the voice. He saw it coming from the announcer booth in the top section of the bleachers, "For your own safety, remain inside….hehehehe. Best Halloween prank ever." Marvin said to himself, unbeknownst to him he had been caught.

Conner and James looked at one another before looking back at Wally and Megan, "Oh this is going to be so sweet." James said, rubbing his hands together in excitement at what he was thinking. After discussing the plan through he mental link, the four snuck out of the gym to set their plan in motion. Minutes later, a group of freshmen dressed in costumes tried to sneak out thorough a set of double doors.

That was until Marvin stepped out in front of them, "I have orders to keep everyone inside." He said before placing his hands on his hips, trying to imitate the caped crusader that he was dressed up as, "Or do you freshmen want to become Martian chow?" he asked, the freshmen quickly re-entered the school at mention of the threat. Leaving MArtain alone to chuckle to himself

"The Martians are coming! The Martians are coming!" Wally's voice yelled out in a panic, making Marvin turn around to see the speedster running towards him at what was for him, a leisurely run.

"Look out!" Marvin jumped at Conner's voice beside him, the clone pointed out past the other teen approaching them, "They have disintegration rays!" he said dramatically as a bright light shined out from behind Wally. Within the span of a second he apparently disappeared in w whirlwind that tore him apart on a molecular level. AS the dust cleared, a shadowy figure walked, the shape was large, it had glowing green eyes and a weapon looking shape in it's left hand. It let out a roar that sounded like what could ony be described as a monster's roar, Conner grabbed Marvin and pointed him towards the doors to the school, "Run Marvin. I'll hold it off!" he said with a tone mocking bravery as he ran towards the Martian, only to be lifted up into the air and slammed into the ground, then into the wall like a ragdoll before being tossed at Mravin's feet.

Marvin let out a scream as he turned towards the school, only for him to run into James, whose both eyes had been apparently gouged out, "I can't see! God help me they stole my eyes! Help me!" he 'begged', causing Marvin to let out a scream that made the girl's on the team sound more masculine before sprinting through the doors of the school.

A few seconds later, James' eyes regenerated back into his skull, sitting up off the ground, he looked over to Wally, Conner, and the 'alien' who shifted it's form into M'gann. "Come on, we do not want to miss this." The clone said as James whipped the blood from his face and fallowed the others into the gym, just as Marvin was admitting to having pranking the entire student body before seeing that the trio of teens were unharmed.

James watched in amusement as Marvin was chastised from one of the teachers, a man wearing an eye patch, for causing a panic among those attending the dance. _'I'm gonna head back to the cave. Thanks for inviting me guys, this was a blast.'_ The tracker said to the others across the mental link.

 _'_ _Could you fly the ship back? Me and Conner will walk back and Wally has his speed.'_ M'gann asked, the team's teacher nodded before exiting the gym and walking through the parking lot to the empty field across the road where the cloaked ship had landed, walking around the back of the ship, the rear of the bioship stretched into a ramp for him. Walking into the rear of the ship, he entered the cockpit and sat in the pilot's chair as the floor rose up in front of him.

Reaching his hands out to the two orbs, the ship began to rise up into the air before taking off into the sky. As the bioship flew through the air, James reached out and made a touchscreen appear so he could call Donna and see if she, Artemis, and Zatanna wanted a lift. "Hey Donna you there?" he asked the line. All he recived however was silence, the hero raised an eye in confusion, the line was on but she didn't answer. "Donna?" he asked again, nothing. "Wonder Girl, report." He formally demanded, when he received still no answer he turned used the ship's computer to locate their communication earpieces.

A map of New York became visible on the screen with three dots close together and not moving. "Ok this is me being the worried boyfriend and checking up on my girlfriend….really hope I'm wrong here." He muttered as the Bioship changed course and turned South towards New York..

* * *

 **Manhattan, October 31** **st** **2010 22:30 p.m.**

As Donna Troy regained consciousness, she let out a painful groan. _Wait…what?_ She wondered as she felt chains binding her to sturdy chair. Looking around her surroundings she found that she was in a abandoned room, the cobwebs in the corner and dust everywhere told her that much. But the looks of things it was a basement, with stacks of old cardboard boxes littering the room as well as the only source of light being a lone light bulb on the ceiling.

 _How did I….or right. That girl, she was working with Harm the whole time…ok forget that, I need to-_ she began before noting the camera in front of her, aimed directly at her face. _Ok so he knows I'm awake then. So let's slow down and see what else he planned for._ Donna thought as she looked around the room, the chains around her weren't anything special, she could snap these easily. But Harm must have known her strength, so there had to be a reason why he used chains of all thing to bind her.

Turning her head back as far as she could, she saw that a thin string connected to a old double barreled shotgun that was pointed directly at her back. The Amazonian cursed under her breath, her bracers were able to deflect gunfire but she wasn't entirely sure if she would be fast enough to block the spread if the gun fired.

The string seemed to be rigged up so that if the chains were broken off in any way then the gun would fire. _Think Donna, there's got to be a way-_ she began to think before the sound of the door creaking open, she stayed still as she possibly could before she felt a presence behind her. When she heard the familiar _Snikt!_ She turned around, "James?!" she whispered loudly at the sight of her boyfriend in his uniform cutting the wire that held the gun's trigger. "How-"

"I tried calling you but you didn't pick up after a while, I got worried, used the trackers in your guy's earpieces to find you. Saw you guys weren't moving so I dropped by…kind of glad I did." He explained as Donna snapped the chains off her and stood from her seat. Reaching her hand out to the camera she crushed the lens before leaning into James and kissing him briefly. As she pulled herself away, James lips pulled into a smile, "I'll take it I did good?" he asked.

"Yes. You did. Now we got to get Artemis and Zatanna. And avoid Harm." She said, even with them outnumbering Harm three to one, he was skilled in fighting multiple opponents.

James looked at her with a confused expression, "Um, yeah I mean you guys should try not to get hurt but Donna I'm me so…"

It was the amazon's turn to look at him strangely before realizing the way she phrased it, "What? No, I mean the man who we fought, his name is Harm. He also has an accomplice, a girl in white." She explained as she led James out of the basement and to the first floor kitchen. She couldn't for the life of her come up for a reason as to why that girl would help them escape, only to betray them.

"Donna, I can only someone other than you, Zatanna and Artemis. There isn't anyone else here." He explained, his senses had picked up the scents of his teammates and some unknown male. Before Donna could attest otherwise however, the rumble of a small explosion made the house shake, a moment later, Zatanna and Artemis ran into the kitchen.

"Cellar now!" Artemis shouted as she stopped by the open stole while the others ran outside, pulling the gas line out of place, the air hissed as flammable gas began to fill the room. Harm Leapt down the stairwell as Artemis neared the door to the back down into the cellar, drawing her bow the archer fired a arrow at him, the man caught the shaft as Artemis slammed the door shut behind her. At that moment, Harm smelled gas.

Looking down at the open stove, the tip of the arrow lit aflame, "Oh that little bitch." He growled out before the ground floor of the building.

Down in the basement, the four's eardrums rang for a few more seconds before clearing up in time for Wolverine to speak, "Did you just blow him up!?" He asked the archer as she walked over to the stairs leading to back yard's cellar door.

"That might slow him down." Zatanna said, when she saw the tracker's eyes widen she held up her hand, "Later. Let's get out of here for now." She said as they walked up the stiars after Artemis and into the back yard. The four briefly froze when they saw a plot of dirt a few feet ahead with a wooden board sticking out of the ground. It was a makeshift grave, Zatanna was the first to move to the small mound of dirt, "Gretta Hayes….beloved sister." She read aloud.

Right before a head rose up through the ground, James nearly yelped out as a girl rise up from the ground. The girl wore all white clothing, the feral teen's mind went to who Donna described as Harm's accomplice, and had blonde hair and an eerie presence to her, "What…the….fuck?" Wolverine asked, James believed a lot of things, aliens, magic, alternate dimensions, even mythical creatures, but ghosts….well he was tempted to draw the line at ghosts.

Zatanna crawled back from the grave, "This…this is your grave. This is your secret….this is you." She realized, the girl in white sadly bowed her head.

"A gjost….an actual ghost…" Artemis said in utter disbelief.

Donna blinked herself back to reality, or what she hoped was reality, before speaking, "How….how did you pass on sister?" she asked. Gretta raised her hands, between them formed a blade out of white vapor. Donna's eyes narrowed, "Harms dagger." She growled before the door to the house behind them was blown apart, out from the smoke stepped Harm, not a fresh wound on him.

 _Artemis wasn't joking. Shit._ James thought as his claws extended from his knuckles in preparation for a fight.

"You defile Harm's sacred place!" He growled out in anger.

The four's collective anger reeked through the air, James's eyes began to turn red, "You dare call us defilers! When you take you take your own sister's life!?" Wonder Girl exclaimed. A proud smile spread across the warrior's face, Wolverine's hands were beginning to shake, not out of fear, but from forcing himself not to strike this man down where he stood.

"Your proud of it!? And you have the gull to write beloved." Artemis spat out is disgust.

"Not Gull, truth. She was the only thing Harm ever loved, that's why she had to go. Harm's heart had to be pure, Gretta had to be cut out, excised like an infection." He explained, behind the four, Gretta once again rose from her grave as a ghostly apparition. Harm's eyes widened in shock briefly before calming down,, "Ah, it casts another illusion spell." He realized.

"Except I didn't speak." Zatanna said, smiling triumphantly, "Harm knows it can't cast a spell without speaking." She mocked as Harm's sister walked between the four towards her brother, who had now a fearful look on his face.

"You wanted to know how we found this place? Face it Harm, your secret's out." Artmis added.

The warrior shook his head, "No! Harm's heart is pure! Harm's not sorry! I'm not!" he denied repeatedly as Gretta stepped closer and closer, Harm raised his sword, yet Gretta simply walked through the blade, the steel phasing through her as she stared her brother down with a look of determination. Her hand reached out to his chest, passing through his skin he let out a gasp as the spot she touched glowed. Pulling her hand out, something orange in color came out with it, Harm choked out breath as he fell forward onto the ground. Picking himself back up, he watched as the light Gretta held disappeared in her hand.

He stood quickly and slashed his sword through her being, the blade not harming her in the slightest before embedding into the ground. He pulled on the handle, trying to yank it free of the grassy earth, this proved futile. Suddenly the he held in his opposite hand closed it's nails onto his plam, the scabbard tried to claw his face but Harm managed to stop it with his strength alone. Suddenly the balde swiped up from the ground at Harm, farcing him to back away before the sword sheathed itself in midair befroee falling to the ground.

Harm looked over at the group, "I don't need the sword!" he proclaimed before running at them with his dagger, Wolverine stepped between him and Artemis, letting the danger sink into his chest, Harm looked at the red eyes of the hero. Slowly the eyes of his mask became white again before speaking.

"Yeah. You do." He said before grabbing the sides of Harm's head and ramming it into his own, the sound of metal clanging echoed through the back yard. Blood poured out of the wound on Harm's forehead before a kick to the side of his knee made him kneel, Donna finished him of with a hard left cross that broke his jaw. Falling to the ground, Zatanna held her hand out.

 **"** **Egnahc sehtolc otni sgnidnib."** Zatanna casted, causing Harm's white coat to wrap around him like a mummy's wrapping. The four looked back to Gretta, the specter walked back to her grave, the girl looked back at her saviors and gave them a grateful smile. "I'll make sure you get a proper burial….we won't forget you Gretta." She promised.

"Secret." The girl said before sinking back into the ground.

Artemis looked down at the grave, "I still can't believe anyone could do that to his own sister. If my…" she stopped herself from saying any more.

"Your what?" Zatanna asked, making the others look at her. James pursed his lips together, he knew who she was referring to, but it wasn't his place to tell the others what was bothering Artemis, no matter how right they were. "Artemis talk to me, secrets don't stay buried. Obviously, it's better to bring them into the light." She pleaded.

"I think it's actually literally than obviously…..but she's right. We're a team…more importantly we're your friends. If you can't tell secrets to us then who can you tell?" James asked with a shrug, giving the archer a smile of encouragement that Donna shared before putting a hand on Artemis's shoulder.

The archer was silent for a moment, "It's….complicated." she said, before she could elaborate, the four heard sirens approaching. "Cops are coming."

"Well we did blow up the kitchen." Zatanna muttered, looking back at the house.

"Yeah now that you mention it we're lucky the house isn't on fire." Donna added as Artemis noticed a neon sign through the garden fence.

"Guys…look at this." The archer called the others over, through the hole in the wooden fence, they could see across the street was a neon sign. Most of it was shorted out except for the word 'secret'. "It must have been the last thing she saw before she died." The girl muttered sadly. The four were silent for a few minutes, their thoughts of the girl that had been killed by her own brother.

* * *

 **Mount Justice, October 31** **st** **2010, 23:33 p.m.**

The midnight hour was close at hand, after returning from Manhattan and explaining everything to both Batman, Zatara, and the Team, they were free to go their separate ways. Artemis was quiet through the debriefing with a contemplative look on her face, she was thinking of what the others told her, about bringing her secrets to light. There was a chance that her worse fears would come to, her friends would reject her, but James continued to assure her it wasn't the case….and there wasn't much to say otherwise.

She left the cave with a lot to think about.

James however decided that after the Halloween party, tracking down Donna and them, and nearly having a panic attack after finding his bike had been destroyed and having Zatanna use her magic to repair them, he was due some rest. So the tracker headed straight for bed to try and sleep, however that was easier said then done, so he resorted to reading a book until he felt tired.

The Hobbit was one of his father's favorites. He had gotten his own copy when he was fourteen, he sparsely had reason or time to read it however, he knew about it's other series of course but he knew that the books always tended to be better than their adaptations. It always managed to put him to sleep whenever reading it, he was grateful his mother had given it back to him after visiting her last week and telling her about his costume idea. It had helped it manage through many restless nights.

Turning the page he finished, he heard footsteps stop outside his door, a quick sniff told him it was Donna outside his door. After a few moments of her standing outside she finally knocked on the door to his room, the door opened not a second later with James in the doorway with a small smile, "Hi." He greeted simply.

The Amazonian smiled at his casual greeting, "Hi….you can't sleep either?" she asked, she asked, noticing the disorderly bed behind him. He turned back to Donna, actually taking her in, her hair was in no way neat, her eyes were forcing themselves awake, Donna's sleepwear was a pair of blue pajama shorts that ended midway down her thighs, giving James a very thought provoking view, adding to her appearance was the red sleeveless tee shirt she wore.

The tracker walked into the room and rubbed the sand from his eyes, "Yeah. Cracked open an old book to try and get myself to sleep….what about you? You normally don't join me on my late nights." He noticed as she walked into his room and stood beside him before leaning into his side, his arm instinctively wrapped around her back, his hand resting on her bicep, "You ok?" he asked.

Donna sighed, her head resting against his shoulder as he guided her down onto his bed's edge, "I keep thinking about Gretta…what Harm did is…..I don't know what it's like when you start to lose it….but I think I know the idea now." She admitted, looking down at her bare feet. "I….I thought about killing him…I thought about how it would be justice but….deep down I know it's wrong."

James frowned as she talked, "Donna…" he tried to think of what to say, but words seemed to fall short. Instead, he reached his other hand up to her chin and tilted her head face him, he leaned in and rested his forehead against her's, their eyes locked together throughout. "You didn't….that's more than I can say." He said with a proud tone.

Donna chuckled, "James…can I stay here…with you?" she asked, making the young man's eyes widen slightly.

"Yeah….sure thing." He agreed, the young man stood and readjusted the covers as Donna floated in the air over the bed as he fixed the blankets. Settling himself beneath the covers, Donna descended down right beside him and turning away so they weren't looking at one another. Her scent invaded James's nose, Donna always had a aroma that contained tropic smells, fruits such as bananas, grapes, the sweet smells could his sense of smell. It was so different from what he usually picked up from other people, like an exotic flower from a far off region that only he could pick up on.

Donna heard her bedmate breathe in deeply as she felt her face warm up. This decision came rashly to the amazon, she had wanted James's presence after this disturbing night. However as good as an intention that was, it didn't make the situation ay less strange to the both of them. However she did not regret it, the feeling of another presence beside her felt calming, in fact the only thing that bothered her was the lack of thick bedsheets to cover with. She shifted around, trying to ration what blanket she had without trying to take any away from her partner when she felt the blanket move, "You ok?" James asked.

Donna turned over and saw him leaning on his elbow, his entire body facing her, "You are very low on blankets." She said jokingly as she held up a handful of the fabric covering them. "Then again you are a living heater so you wouldn't notice." She added, remembering his healing factor could keep him warm in the cold tundra with no problem. He smiled as she turned over so they were facing one another, "On Themacyria we didn't need blankets, it was the perfect temperature there. At night, with the windows open, it was perfect…I fell asleep right away." She told wistfully.

James's smile persisted, "You miss it? Themyscira I mean?" he asked. He had the privilege of being able to visit his family almost whenever he wanted to. However the Amazons where clear that they didn't want any sort of way for someone to come to their island without their say so, so there were no Zeta Tubes on the island, or any way to access it by outsiders for that matter.

Donna smiled softly at him, her hand rose from beneath the covers and slid against his check, "Sometimes….but I would miss a lot more here. Like you." She explained, her boyfriend put his hand over her's. The pair stared into one another's eyes, James shifted forward, her lips were captured by his own. The amazon's hand reached over his cheek to the back of his head and pulled his head closer to her, her tongue probed his mouth causing him to respond in kind.

His lips trailed away from her lips and across her jawline, the amazon's voice whispered his name before her eyes opened and met his, James could hear both their heartbeats pounding fast in their chests from the heated kisses. The warrior princess's hand left the back of his head and instead grabbed the bedsheet before tossing it off the both of them.

Donna lifted herself up as she swung her leg over James, steadying herself on her bent knees on either side of James whose eyes left her blue orbs and trialed down her body. Her dark locks were slightly disheveled but still looked amazing, "Beautiful.." James uttered aloud. Donna's lips twitched into a smile as she caught her breath, his hands slid slowly, unsurely, up her legs to her thighs, the young woman relished in the feeling of his rough hands gliding across her thighs, sending a shiver through her.

She reached down to the rim of James's shirt and pulled it up, exposing his muscular abdominal and chest as he lifted his arms. Discarding the piece of clothing she raked her hands across the expanse of skin, her nails brushed against his stomach, making her partner let out a muffled sound, she recognized it as a chuckle he held back. She was smiling, "So the big bad Wolverine is ticklish?" she taunted as her hands come to a rest on his chest.

James look of defiance was her only warning before his fingers left her thighs and grasped the back of her shorts, his fingers digging into the bountiful flesh beneath and pulling her lower body forward, grinding her pelvis against his. Donna's moan was soft but it carried across the entire room.

It was a this point James realized exactly where this was going….and where they were exactly, "Wait! Wait!" he respired quickly, making the Amazon cease all movement whatsoever before looking down at him wit a disbelieving look.

"Wait?!" She asked, her breath still wavering between controlled and panting. Her mind was hazed with desire and lust, the search for comfort and security morphed into a primal desire that she fully believed _needed_ to be relived NOW. "I'm pretty sure this-" she vaguely gestured to the hands still grasping her ass, "-means you want this."

"Yes. I do…goddamn I do.." he muttered, every instinct he had, both intellectual and primal, told him that he was being stupidly rational right now. "..but…" he ran a hand through his hair to calm himself, "Look. When we do this, and fuck we are going to do this, I'm going to bet it won't be quiet. And down the hall a ways is a Kryptonian clone with super hearing and a light sleeper." He pointed out.

The girl on him let out a groan, not of pleasure but realization. He was right, irritatingly right. Not to mention that M'gann was two doors down from James's room, and gods forbid Red Tornado come across them! She slid off him and fell beside him on the bed, her hair sprawling out from beneath her, "I hate it when your right." she stated.

James sighed, "I do too." He agreed, Donna rolling over into his left side, her head resting on his shoulder. Using his feet he kicked the blanket up enough so it was in arm's reach, pulling it up over their waists, he looked over to see Donna staring at him almost expectantly. "Look….Donna if I crossed a line-"

"What? No! James I…you didn't do anything wrong….we just….got a little lost in on another." She said, her cheeks staining pink. "Honestly…..I'm a glad it happened…..gives me something to look forward to." She said, giving her bedmate a flirtatious wink as he blushed at her words. "Well I'm tired enough….and you are very warm….perfectly warm." She trailed off as she shut her eyes.

James smiled, wrapping his left arm around her, he raised his right hand to brush a few strands out of her eye before laying his head back onto the pillow. _That was…goddamn that was amazing._ He thought before shutting eyes, _Is this too soon? We've been together for a bit now….am I going to fast? Maybe it's because we risk our lives every other day…..you what? Who knows? We don't regret it, and…..well things did happen…but honestly? I couldn't think of anyone else I'd rather…_ his mind trailed off as he too joined the land of dreams.

* * *

 **AN: Happy Halloween!**

 **Ok but serious talk, I needed to get my ass back in gear with this story, it's been MONTHS since I updated. Now the reason for this is pretty simple, back in July Netflix stopped airing Young Justice. And I unfortunately don't own any of the dvd sets. But I found a website that shows them so I should be back to posting.**

 **Also during this Hiatus I'm sad to say that a close family member of mine passed away over the summer. However I've grieved, said my peace, and I'm moving forward with my life like they would want me to.**

 **Alright then, onto business. The story is rated M, so don't be too shocked by what happened, these two characters face danger almost daily and care deeply for one another.**

 **Also while looking into Harm, I was surprised to learn that Harm was actually a recurring character in the Young Justice comic books. Secret was even part of the Team! Kind of weird considering that he only shows up once in the show and is never referred to again.**

 **And as for Donna knowing the sword of Beowulf? She comes from Amazonian warriors who are highly advanced in terms of knowledge and myth. She would probably know the sword if she saw it.**

 **Anything else? No? Ok then, until next time guys.**


	17. Chapter 17 (Misplaced)

**Misplaced**

* * *

 **Mount Justice, November 5** **th** **2010, 19:00 p.m.**

James walked through the halls of Mount Justice with Laura beside him, "So what happened to the sword? I imagine the museum didn't want it back after all the trouble it caused." He asked the clone, she had heard from Batman about his encounter with Harm as well as the details behind the warrior. She wanted to hear the full story from James, as well as having a chance to see him and check up on him.

"We got it now. It's locked away in a secure location. Zatara is looking into a way to destroy it, but he said it would take a while before it was useless." She explained, she found the requirements to wield the sword extreme as well as vague. The legend stated that one's heart must be pure to use the sword properly, however no rendition of Beowulf's story had anything that hinted at the extremes that Harm went to in order to use the blade.

Her kin nodded in agreement, "Good, sooner we make it worthless the better. Last thing I want is that nut job going after it again and trying to prove himself." He said as they entered the mission room. At the computer was Zatara with his daughter close by, her arms crossed over her chest and her figure slouching while she wore a look of boredom. Zatanna saw him enter and gave him a quick smile before returning to a disinterested look as her father used the computer to give the authorization to open the doors to the hangar, allowing the Bioship to leave.

The magician turned his head towards the pair, "Ah, James. I was hoping to see you." He greeted, "I thought you would like to know we've arranged a date for Gretta to be put to rest." He said, making the tracker give him a smile of gratitude. "Her spirit should be pass on after the funeral….her bother however…" he trailed off with a disgusted expression. "While he has no power now, I fear that he will try to use other mystical artifacts to gain power."

Laura walked over to the computer and brought up the file they had on Harm, James scowled at the picture of the villain. "He's in Belle Reave now. Hopefully it's where he'll get his own shallow grave." Laura stated, making Zatara narrow his eyes at her, she looked over as she placed a hand on her hip like she was challenging him to say something. But in truth, he couldn't, he found his acts just as if not more horrendous than the others, "Anyway without the sword, he doesn't have any power whatsoever, he's not a threat now." She said before closing the holo screens as the Zeta tube hummed to life.

Wonder Woman and Donna stepped through the tube into the cave. James and Donna both locked eyes for a second before breaking the contact they had so their respective mentors didn't notice, however the pair also wore a smile on their faces as they did, "Hey Diana, what brings you here?" Laura greeted warmly to the amazon. When X-23 first met Diana, she expected her to treat her like the other members of the league had when she first met, like she had been a victim of something terrible. And while it was the case, it in no way meant she enjoyed it.

Diana though, she treated her like she was a survivor.

As the two female members of the Justice League conversed, Donna walked over beside James, Donna glanced over to the young man. She noticed he had shaved recently, the smell of his aftershave was diluted but still detectible with how close she was to him. His eyes glanced over towards her, "Hey." he greeted simply, mirroring the greeting to him she made five nights ago. Donna felt her heart stutter in her chest as she thought of that night, the sensations, the way his eyes looked up at her with desire, the deep kisses and the soft ones, and the feeling of his hands groping her.

"Hey." She replied with a smirk, their eyes locked together as she spoke. Donna clasped her hands behind her back, her eyes drifted over briefly to Zatara, Laura, and Diana, who were all conversing on the sword of Beowulf. Then over to Zatanna who gave her a smile, "So….Zatanna knows." She admitted outright, James's eyes widened, he looked over and the magician simply waved at him with a knowing smile, he could only wave back. "I'm honestly surprised no one else found out after what we wore for Halloween."

"They probably thought I was dressing up to humor you." He started, making Donna Quirk her brow while she smirked playfully at him. "You grew up on an island with no contact to the outside world. Heck when I first met you you I thought you might be…..unaware of a few things." He explained in a joking manner, he knew first hand that Donna had learned a lot about the world in her short time with the Team.

The young woman gave him a challenging look, "You mean naïve." She corrected, James didn't answer her and instead adverted his gave up to the ceiling as he feigned innocence. "James, do I seem naïve to you?" she asked, bringing her arms out from behind her back and wrapping them around her stomach.

James put on a thoughtful look as Zatara walked by them, "Well I don't think so….but…." He trailed off coyly. Donna rolled her eyes at his sarcastic joke, she glanced over at Diana who was still conversing with Laura to make sure they hadn't caught their attention.

"Well then, what could I learn?" she humored, "What would you teach a girl who doesn't know a thing about man's world?" she inquired, somewhat genuinely curious.

James was about to speak before an idea came to mind that made him smile, "Well….what about a date?" he asked, the mirth quickly left Donna's eyes at the tone James had, he was serious. The feral teen rubbed the back of his neck, "I was out today and there were these flyers for a fair not to far from Happy Harbor…..it'd be fun to go to with a friend." He explained, choosing his words carefully in case Laura or someone overheard.

He and Donna hung out as a couple every day, when Conner and M'gann would leave for school, they would train together, have a picnic outside, or just lay on the couch together and watch a movie. But going out in public on an actual date hadn't happened as of yet. And it made it James all the more happy when he saw her smile, "That sounds fun….I'd definitely go." She agreed as she and James began walking out of the room. Neither of them noticing Laura watching them with a raised eye as they walked off.

The pair walked through the halls and to the elevator leading down to the hangar, when the doors closed shut, James reached his hand out and clasped it around Donna's. She gave it a squeeze before letting go as the elevator doors opened, they entered the Hanger while the Bioship landed in it's designated pad. The back of the ship opened up revealing boxes and crates of supplies from the team.

Every month they would receive supplies from the league, since the Zeta Tubes require consistent motion in order to teleport, the supplies needed to be physically picked up. Batman oversaw the pickups and a few members of the League helped unpack the load, James walked into the Bioship as M'gann used her telepathy to carry out a few small grocery bags while Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad watched. James gathered the rest of the provision in the ship, turning around however he saw both Conner and Donna picking up large wooden crate about their height and twice their size with little to no difficulty.

Conner saw him looking at them and smirked, "Jealous?" he asked as Donna and he shared a smile as the elevator door .

"Overcompensating?" James replied simply as he walked past them, making the clone and Amazon snicker before setting them down outside the ship. Superboy and Donna set the crates down, and James set the bags on top of them. Zatara stepped forward and spoke a few backwards words, causing the supplies to levitate into the air.

Suddenly Red Tornado, Batman, and Zatara disappeared into thin air before everyone's eyes, the crates Zatara had been levitating dropped to the floor and broke open, spilling the contents onto the floor as the Team stared in shock for a brief moment before Kaldur shook himself out of his shock, "James. Can you pick up their scents?" he asked.

The tracker took a short whiff of the air, "It's….weird. Their scent is there but….it just ends right where they were. Like they were teleported." He explained, walking over to where Batman was last seen with his scent trail cut off abruptly. This in of itself was strange, even when someone died their scent remained as a sort of footprint along with a decaying smell. However there was nothing, they had simply vanished.

Robin cupped his chin in contemplation, "If this was an attack on the League, then why are we still here?" he asked aloud.

"Robin, Zatanna, go to the mission room and try to establish contact with any Justice League member you can. And see if anything similar has happened anywhere else." Kaldur ordered, the boy wonder nodding before running to the elevator with Zatanna and taking it up to the main floor as Aqualad looked at the others, "We need to find out exactly what is going on here, if this is an attack on the League or something else. I'll get in contact with Atlantis while the rest of you head to Happy Harbor. If this isn't contained to just the league then the entire town's population of teens and children could be in a panic." He predicted, the idea of children running around without any supervision sounded dangerous.

James nodded before the rest of them ran up the ramp into the Bioship, entering the cockpit of the ship he took his seat by the right window with Donna sitting behind him while Miss Martian took the helm. The ship lifted up off the landing pad before zooming out the bay doors and into the air, turning towards Happy harbor.

* * *

 **Happy Harbor, November 5** **th** **2010, 20:11 p.m.**

After landing near the high school where the dance was held last week, the six broke off into two teams. M'gann and Artemis would search the nearby area around the school and gather all children in the gym, meanwhile the others would search a more wider area and escort whatever children they found back to the school. James was currently running down the sidewalk, he had caught the scent of a few children and ad been fallowing them for the past three minutes.

He estimated there were at least five kids all together all going through town, "Well at least they're smart enough to stick together." He said aloud as he fallowed the scent across the road to a park. Walking over a hill and to it's peak, he found a small playground at the base of the hilltop's other side where the children were all playing. James let out a breath of relief as he walked down the hill.

The playground was smaller than one that would be found in a schoolyard, there was a large jungle gym in the center with a slide, rope ladder, monkey bars, and a tube connecting it to a platform with a pole to slide down. A few yards away there was a sandbox with two of the children in there, boys that couldn't be any more older than six and where were identical to one another in every way except the color of their shoes. The other three's scent trails went further into the park, much to the hero's irritation.

 _Oh, nice. Leave the two six year old's all alone._ James thought, he hid his anger as he made his way over to sandbox so not to scare the kids. The brothers looked over as he approached, "Hey there." He greeted to the twins. "My name is James…..do you guys know where your parents are?" he asked, already knowing the answer, from what they could tell everyone who was the age of eighteen and above was affected.

The two looked at each other sadly, "We….we don't know." One of them said, the other one wiping some wetness in his eye away. "Our Sister and her friends brought us here but they're gone now to." He said before looking up at James with a scared expression, "A-are we going to go away too!?" he asked, clearly frightened as much as his brother was who gripped his arm.

"No." James said simply as he kneeled down in front of them, he glanced at the jungle gym, the other kid's scents were there but they went further into the park. "As far as we can tell it's only adults….I think your sister just got a little scared." He explained before he gave the boys a smile, "I'm scared too….but I see you two just playing out here in the sandbox…you two must be really brave." He said.

The twins snickered to each other, "But your bigger than both of us."

"Hey size isn't everything." James joked back, "Look, me and some friends of mine are getting everyone together at the high school. I'll help you look for your sister-"

"She's got her friends with her, you should find them too." One of the boys added, James pointed at him and nodded.

"Right. I'll find them, then we'll all head to the High School. Sound good?" he asked, the twins nodded. James gave them a large smile, "Ok then. You guys stay close and we'll get you to the school." He said as he stood up and offered them a hand, "I forgot to ask, what are your guy's names?" he asked as one of them took the other brother's hand and then grabbed James's.

"I'm Daniel. He's Sam." The one linking them together said as James led the boys into the park, using his nose to track the other kids' scents.

"Cool, my brother's name is Sam too….I call him Sammy. Drives him nuts." The tracker said, making Daniel laugh as Sam pouted at his brother. "But he calls me Jimmy back so I try not to call him that." He added, making both the boys laugh. The teen felt his lips pull into a small smile, he had talked to Sammy using his communicator and found out he was safely at home. James instructed him to just stay at home until this was all sorted out.

James led the twins through the park, conversing in small talk to preoccupy the children's minds while they searched for their sister and friends. As he led them towards a maintenance shed in the middle of the park, as he neared the small shed however he picked up the sound of footsteps fast approaching from behind. He could tell it was one of the kids by their scent, so he turned around just in time to duck as a shovel was swung at his head.

The assailant swung it again but this time James stopped it by grabbing the shaft of the tool. His attacker, a fourteen year old girl with a pixie cut tried to wrench it free from his grasp but it was fruitless, "Stop." James commanded with a low growl in his voice. The girl stopped her struggling when she noticed the twins were more scared of her than him, he pulled the shovel out of her grasp and tossed it aside onto the grass.

"Sandra!" the boys yelled out before embracing their sister, who guided them behind her.

The feral hero crossed his arms, "What the hell are you doing with my brothers?!" she demanded.

"Says the sister who left them in the sandbox at night." He replied, making the girl glare at him. "Look I just came from the high school, everyone is gathering there until this whole thing gets settled." He explained, "I saw your brothers and I was going to take them there but they said you were somewhere else with your friends."

The girl visibly relaxed, "Ok….my friends are….well…" she looked over to the shed that was behind James.

The tracker looked at the shed, before he could inquire more he caught the scent of….hormones. "Oh you have got to be…..just get your brothers to the school!" he said as he walked over to the bed, sister bowed her head in embarrassment before leading her brothers towards the direction of the high school while the twins waved goodbye to James. Walking up to the door, he banged the base of his hand against the metal door as hard as he could to get the two's attention, "Lovebirds! When you're done, get to the school! Everyone's there already to wait this thing out!" he yelled.

When he heard the couple fall over themselves inside, James couldn't help but smirk before heading off after the twins and sister he found to escort them to the school.

* * *

Walking through the doors of the school gym, James held the door open as the twins, their sister, and the sister's friends entered the gym. As he was about to close it, he saw Wally and Megan head towards the doors with the speedster catting a child. Closing the door behind them, M'gann looked around with a sad expression at the sight of the children they managed to gather. The numbers weren't massive but they were well into the double digits. "Any word yet?" the Martian asked.

James leaned against the wall beside the doors, "Nothing yet. Kaldur called me on the way here, Atlantis, the Watchtower, Hall of Justice, even the Batcave. Nothing." He answered solemnly. "We got to fix this fast, every hour we lose more kids. Longer we wait…" he trailed off, he couldn't even guess how many children would disappear if this persisted a few days.

Megan nodded in agreement, "I know, Robin and Zatanna are working on a way to find the source of this. Zatanna thinks it's magic." she said, making the fellow Teammate let out a groan of frustration. James disliked magic, it wasn't that he thought it was inertly evil but it stacks the deck against them whenever it comes into play, it's why he wouldn't mind having Zatanna on the Team to counteract whatever spells are used on them.

The doors beside them opened and Conner stepped through with two children in his arms and another two hanging off him, "Got four more here." He stated as he gently set the kids down onto the ground. They joined the other children gathered around Artemis who was singing songs to the kids, she had been against being the chaperone for the children they collected but she seemed to accept the role and was having some fun with it.

The doors opened again and this time it was Donna who entered with a small baby in her arm. In her arms was an infant, however the baby seemed to have taken playing with Donna's hair. The amazon slightly winced as the infant pulled a little hard on some strands, "Ow, no little one. You shouldn't pull hair." She gently chastised, only to have her hair pulled again and making the young woman pout at the baby. She heard a chuckle from her side and turned her head to see James covering his mouth, "You hold it."

"First off, it's a she, not a it. Second, you want the guy who has razor sharp knives in his hands to hold a delicate baby?" he asked dryly. She nodded right away, making her boyfriend roll his eyes and hold out his arms for the infant which Donna immediately did. Holding the infant, James smiled down at the small girl, "Hey sweetie, you know it's not ice to pull people's hair." He reprimanded, the child reaching her hands out towards Donna again. James realized what the child wanted, "Ok. I think I know what you need." He said.

He lifted her up high into the air, making her squeal in utter delight, "You need to fly! Fly little baby!" he said excitedly, making the infant giggle as he 'flew' her through the air. Donna meanwhile was stunned by the spectacle before her, she hadn't imagined that James of all people would know how to handle children. Be carried the infant down into his arms, the little girl laughing up a storm as James smiled, "There you see? She just wanted some excitement." He said as he walked over towards the mat where the other children were seated.

Setting her down on the mat, James walked back over to Donna who was still reeling from the revelation. The tracker scold only shrug his shoulders in response, "I babysat Sammy all the time when I was little. Picked up that kids just wat to play, eat, sleep, or…well less said about the last one the better. Once you figure that out it's like raising an animal." He explained jokingly upon seeing the look on his girlfriend's face. Donna smiled before looking over at the little girl, she was the only girl on Themyscira since all the other women were from the time of Greeks with Diana being the only exception so she never had to look after someone younger than her.

Her eyes darted back to James, her mind conjured the image of her and him with an infant different from the one he was holding moments prior. The one her mind created had her midnight hair yet had James's hazel colored eyes, she didn't realize she staring until James snapped his fingers in front of her face, "You ok?" he asked, the Amazonian's cheeks flushed while her hand tucked the hair the child played with behind her ear.

"Fine, just lost in thought. What's the situation?" she asked, making herself focus on the mission at hand and trying not focus on the mental image she created.

"Well we've gotten every kid under eighteen that lives within two block's radius, but we can't stay here and look after everyone. Not to mention when we go to stop whatever this is." he added. while it was important to keep the kids here safe they also needed to stop this phenomenon at all costs. However they also couldn't just leave children alone without any supervision whatsoever, "Unless one of us wants to stay here to keep the kids company we need someone else to take care of them." James said as he looked over at kids.

"Wait….you said when you came to the party that Conner and M'gann introduced you to their friends right? Could they call them?" she asked. They weren't the only teenagers in the town, and it would free them up to stop whatever is going on and get the adults back. "Wait….why stop at Happy Harbor?" she asked suddenly, making James look at her expectantly, "The Cave has Justice League tech right? I'm sure they have a broadcast signal or something, maybe we could get the word out. Tell people to stay inside, take care of their younger siblings and kids?" she proposed.

James smiled at her in realization, "Freeing us up to investigate." he concluded, making Donna nod before putting her hand up to her earpiece.

"Robin it's Donna. I got an idea, has the Justice League ever used anything to send messages across the world?" she asked.

 _'_ _Yeah they did when…oh! I get it! Yeah, I could definitely get into the Justice League computers and use that to send out broadcast around the world.'_ Robin said through the communicator. _'Get back to the cave then. Zatanna says she's studying up on the locator spell we used to find the Injustice League. Hopefully we'll have a lead soon. Robin out.'_ He said before hanging up.

* * *

 **Mount Justice, November 6** **th** **2010, 23:50 p.m.**

Conner and M'gann managed to get in touch with a few friends from school to look after the children in the gym while they met up with the rest of the Team at Mount Justice. Kaldur informed them that he was able to contact Atlantis, however the underwater city faced the same problem as the rest of the world was, no adults eighteen or older. Even Red Arrow was gone, "So we're thinking magic, who do you guys think? That guy from the Injustice League? Wotan?" Wolverine asked Kaldur and Kid Flash as they walked down the hall after Zatanna.

"Wotan is still confined to Belle Reave as I recall." Kaldur stated.

"But there was that one guy at Fate's tower remember? That weirdo witch boy with the cat?" he asked, causing James to look at him with a questionable stare. Kid Flash saw the dumbfounded look the tracker was giving him and explained, "Fate used the helmet to take over my body and fight this demon kid. He had some pretty powerful magic." he explained, "Plus we never did catch him." he added.

James ran a hand down his face, "I said it once and I'll say it again. I hate magic. No offense Zatanna." he added, realizing he was in the presence of a magic user.

The magician looked back and smirked, "Your just jealous. It's ok." she teased, making the feral hero roll his eyes under his mask as they walked into the Mission Room with a hologram of the world projected into the air with the others standing by, Kid Flash, Wolverine, and Kaldur joined them as Zatanna stepped towards the globe. She took a deep breath before raising her hands up with a wand in one, **"Etacol retnecipe fo yrecros!"** She commanded, causing the globe to stop and a point in North Carolina.

"Coordinates locked, Roanoke Island…..You did it." Robin said as he downloaded the coordinates onto his gauntlet computer and gave Zatanna a smile.

However before the team could gather to form a plan, James smelt a new scent enter behind him, whirling around he shot his claws out of his hands and pointed them directly at….a ten year old boy? "What the hell?" he asked as the boy jumped back upon seeing the claws pointed at him. The kid wore a red hoodie, white shirt, and plain blue jeans. He had black hair on his head along with blue eyes, "Who…" he took a whiff of the air, catching the kid's scent he recognized it immediately as the others turned and approached. "Captain Marvel?" Wolverine asked with confusion as he retracted his claws.

Kid Flash was the first to be skeptical, "Yeah and I'm Speedy Gonzalez." he said sarcastically. "Look maybe he's Cap's kid or-"

"Gee Wally, do I really have to bring you nachos and pineapple to get on your good side?" the boy said cockily, causing the group of teens to stare at him in utter disbelief before turning to one another, hoping someone had an idea of how to explain this.

However, Wonder Girl managed to find her voice first, "You were saying Speedy Gonzalez?" she asked, snapping the speedster out of his stupor and give her a glare while she and James chuckled to themselves. She turned her attention to the boy, "Ok Captain, how did you get back here?" she asked.

"Ok long story short there are two worlds, or dimensions, one is all kids and the other is all adults. Batman and Zatara tracked down where the source is-" he began before noticing the projection of the globe behind the Team, "-and so have you guys apparently….um. One second. SHAZAM!" he called out before disappearing in a flash of lighting.

James could only blink is disbelief, "Ok. I'm not the only one whose confused right?" he asked aloud. The Team let out various forms of agreement before Billy returned to the cave in a flash of lighting and a crackle of thunder. The boy hero explained that the adult heroes had also discovered the location of the magic spell. Using Captain Marvel, or Billy as they called his child form, the two teams agreed that the best way to deal with the threat would be to attack the location at the same time from both dimensions and hope the two worlds return to it's one natural state.

With a plan set, the Team gathered into the Bioship and set a course for North Carolina.

In the ship, James across the cockpit to Zatanna, "Any ideas for fighting magic?" he asked. His experience with mystical opponents was next to nonexistent. Wotan of the Injustice League sent him flying with a wave of his hand during their mission to the Bayou, and he intended on that not happening again.

"Well that depends on a lot of things, how skilled the magician is, what spells they know, what kind of magic they specialize in. It's like how heroes have different powers. Some are similar but can do more than the other. That sort of thing." Zatanna explained as best she could for those who had no magic whatsoever. She watched as Wolverine cupped his chin, contemplating what he told her. "Wait….if the spell was meant to send all adults away, then the one on our side must be Klarion." she realized.

Kid Flash groaned, "Great, witch boy. Just what we need….well at least we got the element of surprise…and he also has his cat!" he said in realization. When everyone on the ship gave him a strange look he explained, "When Fate took control of my body he attacked Klarion's cat, he said it was his familiar."

Zatanna brightened up, "That's it! If we can destroy his familiar he won't be able to keep his form." she explained with a smirk.

Within the hour, the cloaked ship was soaring over Roanoke Island, the heavily wooded forest below them stretching out for miles. As they neared the destination the ship slowed to a stop midair, the floor opened up in front of Wolverine which he dropped through and fell down to the ground, landing in a crouch he sniffed the air for any nearby presence. _'We're clear.'_ he said through the mental link Miss Martian set up between them.

Superboy and Wonder Girl dropped on either side of him while Artemis, Robin, Kid Flash, and Zatanna repelled down with cables the bioship produced. Kaldur dropped behind James in the middle of everyone, _'Zatanna, anything?'_ he asked.

 _'_ _I can feel the mystic energy. It's really close by but we're so close I can't pinpoint where.'_ The magician explained as Wolverine listened closely. His hearing picked up the sounds of various animals, all of them radiating away from a direction.

 _'_ _I think I got him. This way.'_ he thought as he led the others through the forest. Jumping over a fallen tree, he kept a steady pace through the forest with he others fallowing close behind until he came to a stop, in front of the them was a long road. He caught a strange scent that sent a chill down his spine, _'Down the road, I can smell him….he smells like dead animals.'_ he told the others.

 _'_ _Alright here is out plan. Artemis and Robin, you two will draw his attention while me, Superboy, and Kid Flash attack from his flanks while Artemis and Zatanna acts as support. Donna and Miss Martian, you strike from above. Wolverine I want you to get in close when you can and strike hard and fast. He's not human, so don't treat him like one. No one holds back.'_ he said, laying out the plan for everyone and receiving nods of confirmation. The team broke apart and went to their positions, James crept silently through the woods beside the road until the enemy came into view.

The witch boy looked no older than Kid Flash was, he wore a suit and tie, along with dress shoes. However that was the only part of his appearance that was normal, his hair was curled up on either side of his head to resemble horns, and his nails looked filed to a point. Wolverine also noticed a tabby cat walking around the large glowing pentagram that Klarion was in.

Suddenly arrows and birdarangs flew out towards his back, however he turned and raised his hand making a shield appear and block the projectiles. "That's the best you can do?" his high pitched voice taunted the archer and boy wonder in the middle of the road in front of him. The shield faded and a blot of lightning came down from the sky in front of them and knocked them back.

At that point, Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Superboy charged at him from all sides. However the dark mage created a bubble shield around the pentagram and rebounded the three back. _Wait a sec…he's protecting the circle more than himself…and that gem there.'_ James noted, the bright yellow stone implanted in the ground catching his eye as Miss Martian used her telekinesis to pick up a number of rocks and throw them at his shield. Meanwhile Donna flew up high into the air before shooting back down on top of the dome, rocking the ground around it.

The lord of chaos opened his mouth and breathed fire at the Martian, however she flew out of range of the attack and remained unharmed. He turned his attention to Donna, "Oooh, whose this? Your new." he asked as Donna kept punching the magical shield in hopes of breaking it. "An amazon? But there's something off about you…can't put my finger on it…..oh well." he said casually before making the shield expand and knock her through a tree.

As this went on, Kid Flash ran over to Artemis, "There! Take out the cat and take out the creep." he explained as he directed the archer at the cat, they both looked over at the tabby who was simply licking it's paw as the fight went on.

"Good, not much of a cat person anyway." Artemis said before drawing an arrow and firing at the feline. The lord of chaos saw the attack and raised his hand, turning the arrow into a ball of yarn.

"Hehehe, Tinkle, show them what the familiar of a Lord of Chaos can do." he said to his feline familiar. The cat let out a 'meow' before it's form began to shift into that of a large monster that resembled a sabretooth tiger with a cat pattern. Wolverine chose then to attack.

The cat let out a howl as the feral hero's blades cut its tail off, the creature let out a immense howl of pain before Superboy's fist slammed onto its head into the ground, "Focus on witch boy! I got this!" Wolverine called out to the clone as he leapt onto the beast's back and dug his claws into Tinkle's fur. The beast tried to throw the teen off its back, throwing it's weight onto it's back paws and slamming his back into a tree against Wolverine.

But James still held on. slashing his claws outwards from Tinkle's back, making the familiar jump into the air and onto it's back before rolling off, leaving James in the ground before it stomped him with it's clawed front leg. The teen grit his teeth, _Ignore the pain._ He thought before raising his arms and cutting into the sides of the extremity that was pinning him, Tinkle screeched in pain retracting his arm. Wolverine slashed his claws as they paw rose, cutting off the digits and claws attached to them. The feral hero rolled back, popping his foot claws as he did and slashed the underside of the feline's head as Wolverine regained his footing before lunging at the large cat, only to be struck in the side by lightning, "ENOUGH!" Kalrion shouted, James splintering through a tree.

Picking himself up, he looked over and saw that the magician was holding the other members of the tam off with electrical attacks while he focused on him, he also noticed that he bore wounds similar to that of his familiar. His hand was bleeding, along with the missing of a few fingers, and there was a slice on his neck that just missed his jugular. "Your going to pay for that you human waste!" Kalrion roared before Tinkle leapt over the fallen tree and onto the feral hero, locking it's teeth around the hero, making him yell out in pain as the teeth sunk into his arms.

Wolverine's scream died down as he grinded his teeth together, as the feline thrashed around with him still in it's mouth. Soon the pain James felt was clouded only by his rage, his eyes turning blood red as he used all his strength to push his arms out while the teeth only sunk further into his arms pressing his hands against the bottom and roof of the mouth, he slowly forced the jaws to part and push himself out of the monster's mouth and rolling across the ground and under the knocked down tree he was sent though.

The familiar leapt over the fallen tree at the hero, James fell onto his back and kicked his legs out with his foot blades extended. The feline impaled itself onto the blades before James swung his legs up and threw the familiar off into the woods, "Nnnngghhh, I hate cats." he growled out as he picked himself up off the ground, looking down the crossroads his eyes widened when he saw that someone was in the air sending magical blasts at the lord of Chaos.

Doctor Fate. "Oh god….Zatanna!" he realized after seeing the black hair coming out the back of the helmet as well as when she spoke backwards with Nabu's voice mixed with her's. Kid Flash had told him that the spirit of the helmet had tried to force it's control over the speedster and rob Wally of his free will. If it wasn't for the spirit of the helm's previous wearer then Kid Flash wouldn't be here.

Wolverine ran towards the fight, but the sound of a monstrous growl told him he was not finished with Tinkle. However he continued running at Klarion's shield, he spun around and slashed one set of claws out across the beast's snout and fallowed with a upward slash, nearly taking the demon familiar's nose off.

It recoiled and retreated back into the forest while Wolverine lunged at the bubble shield and plunged his blades at the magical shield as Kaldur bashed his water hammers into the side, Miss Martian used her telekinesis to bash large rocks into the bubble while both Wonder Girl and Superboy used their strength to bash into the sides. All while Zatanna attacked from the air with Nabu. "No! NoonononoNONONONO!" the witch boy wailed in defeat as the bubble shattered from their combined attacks.

"Kid! Now!" Aqualad called out, a blur of speed ran through the circle while Nabu trapped the demon kid in a Ankh.

"Doc! Catch!" the speedster yelled out as he ,threw the gem at the Lord of Order.

The mage caught the gem and chanted **"Yam eht owt emoceb eno ecno erom!"** The hero casted, a wave of energy emanating out from the gem, washing over the entire planet. Within the Pentagram, four other defeated villains appeared on the points of the star with Batman, Red Tornado, Captain Marvel, Zatara, and X-23 appearing on the ground.

Klarion looked around and shrugged, "Eh. They don't make evil immortal sorcerers like they used to. Oh well." he said, snapping his fingers once he gained enough mystic power to dissolve the Ankh holding him in place. The demon spawn dusted his clothes off as he stood up, "Fun while it lasted. Tinkle." he called out, the monstrous cat bounding out from the wooded thicket as it shrunk down to it's cat size however, James grabbed it by the back of it's neck! Kalrion's eyes turned blood red, "Tinkle! Let him go!" he demanded at the teen.

James gritted his teeth in anger, "You honestly think I'm going to let you leave here? Tell me, what's stopping me from popping my claws through Garfield from hell right here?" he asked, pressing his other hand's knuckles against the back of the feline's skull. _Ok this looks real bad out of context._ he thought when he saw the bewildered expression X-23 had on her face.

"He is Chaos Incarnate." Dr. Fate said, making Wolverine look up at the sorcerer supreme. "To what end would it serve?" the lord of order asked. "Even if you destroy his familiar he will return in due time, he is a part of nature just as order is." the magician said, making the witch boy let out a cackle.

James looked over at his friends, they didn't show any sign of protest of him killing the familiar. He turned his gaze to Klarion, "Honstly? Payback for making Zatanna put on your dumb ass helmet." he said before extending his claws through the cat's skull. Klairon yelled out in pain as three claw shaped holes appeared ion his head before he burst into red flames along with the cat. The pair quickly turned to ashes, the feral hero retracted his blood and soot covered blades, "Make fun of that asshole." he cursed.

Wolverine looked over to Robin and Artemis, who were knocked out of the fight, get back up, "ugh…did we win?" the boy wonder asked as Kid Flash helped him up while Donna did the same with the archer.

"At a cost." Aqualad said sadly as the others looked up at Zatanna.

As Zatara walked up to plead with the helm, Wolverine spoke across the mental link _'Wally you're the only one whose had that thing on. Worst come to worst, could we force that helmet off her?'_ he asked, he was hoping that with all the heroes here they could overpower the sorcerer and pull the helmet off Zatanna.

"Great and powerful Nabu….I ask you, please. Release my daughter." Zatara pleaded to the Lord of Order.

The being was silent for a single moment. "No."

As the team let out forms of protest to Fate, Wally spoke across the mental link, _'I don't think so…maybe. Look, the way Kent explained it, the helmet takes over the wearer's mind. I mean maybe if you take if off…but this is magic it could fry her brain or something!'_ The speedster exclaimed in his mind, he had taken the helm off himself through Nabu so he didn't know what would happen if someone tried to force it off.

Wolverine locked eyes with Aqualad, _'Your call boss.'_ thought before Zatara held his arms out.

"Then let me take her place." he offered to the Lord of Order, "My skills are already at their peak, my body is physically stronger, better able to withstand the strain of your power." he added, his words not lacking in fact. Doctor Fate took his words into consideration, while Wally had no affinity for the magic arts Zatanna did. However she was young and still had much to learn, and like Zatara said the strain that his magic can put on a body would be better suited for an adult.

"All true. But if I remove the helmet, what gauntee do I have that you will don it?" Fate asked, his skepticism only growing from the looks the Team was giving him.

"My word." Zatara said before speaking his enchantment, contracting him to do as he said. Fate lowered to the ground and removed the helm from Zatanna's head, as soon as she saw her father she fell into his loving embrace, the smile of gratitude on the older magician's face making it all the more heartbreaking.

Wolverine grit his teeth. This wasn't right….but it had to be done.

* * *

 **Quebec, Canada, November 7** **th** **, 2010, 08:37 a.m.**

James sped down the road on his motorcycle towards his home, the sun was well over the horizon and the light of the new day shined over the land.

Yesterday the world's parents and children reunited and spent the day in each other's company…well, almost everyone. Zatara was forced to keep his word and donned the Helmet of Fate, becoming Doctor Fate and leaving Zatanna without a father. James, Donna, M'gann, and Superboy spent the last day and morning moving Zatanna's possessions out of her estate, and while she put up a brave face James could feel the sadness coming off her in waves.

He had wanted to stay longer and help them unpack but Donna insisted that he go see his own parents and brother. He wanted to protest, but the look that the Amazon had given convinced him to go and see his folks. _One look and I'm going all the way to Canada for her. Wow, guess we know who wears the pants now._ he thought jokingly as he slowed his bike when he turned down his street.

Pulling into his driveway, James took his helmet off and set it down on his bike before walking up to the front door. Opening the screen door he knocked against the wooden one behind it. When there was no response he banged against the door again, "Mom? Dad? Sam? You guys home?" he called out into the house. When he recicved no answer, he stepped away from the door and reached up to the doorframe where they kept the spare key.

He stepped inside after unlocking the door, as he crossed the threshold however he picked up a peculiar scent. It was familiar…..like embalming fluid.

His claws shot out immediately, running down the hallway, he swung the doors open and began looking for his family, "Mom! Dad! SAM!" he yelled out as he entered his father's study and found no one. Rushing back into the living room, he stopped when he noticed something on the inside of the wooden door.

Nailed to the door was a piece of paper with a single word on it. Yogoretachi. It was Japanese, for unclean blood. The feral hero's teeth grinded against each other, he reached up at the paper and ripped the paper off the door before exiting the house and firmly slamming the door behind him.

* * *

 **AN: And another chapter down ladies and gentlemen! And for once the day it's published coincides with the day in the show. I totally did not plan that, honest.**

 **Now as for Klarion, Fate said himself that the familiar is what keeps him on this plain of existence, like a anchor to a boat. So if the anchor was destroyed then Klarion would be sent back to wherever he came from, eventually he would reform but it would take some time to do that.**

 **Now what else? Oh! I actually finished making some fanart of Donna and posted it onto Deviantart, now I made it ALMOST exactly how I wanted it, her hair looks a little more like Zatanna's but in actuality it's more wild looking like how it is in Titan's Rebirth.**

 **Aside from that….I can't really think of anything else to say except until next time!**


	18. Chapter 18 (Honor)

**Honor**

* * *

 **Mount Justice, November 7** **th** **2010, 12:22 a.m.**

James broke about five different traffic laws getting to the Zeta Tube he used to get home but the hero's mind was in such a haze he didn't care in the slightest whatsoever. He just wanted to know where his family could be, how long it would take to get there, and how painful he should make it for Shingen when he found him. He found Robin, Miss. Martian, Superboy, Artemis, and Donna giving Zatanna some time to grieve.

He had explained what he had found at home to the others and they had come to the same conclusion that he had, Shingen Yashida has made his move. They team had gathered in the mission room, Robin was using the computer to look up all properties that Yashida industries owned, James meanwhile was pacing back and forth in front of the Zeta Tubes.

His claws were forced out of his hands by his sheer anger, usually he could retract them by will alone. However when his berserker emerged it was his rage that made him unable to put his blades back, "What the hell is taking her so long?" he muttered out loud. He had called Laura on his way back to the cave, she had assured him she would meet him at the cave but his patience was thin as a strand of hair and every minute that ticked by was more weight on each end that was straining it.

Donna, Kaldur, Conner, M'gann, and Artemis entered the mission room all dressed in their uniforms. The Atlantean approached Robin as he typed on a holographic keyboard, "How is he?" he asked, glancing over at James who had stopped his pacing and instead had begun sharpening his claws with one another.

"He's taking it as well as can be expected….honestly I thought he'd take off on his own again." The boy wonder admitted. James wore his regular clothes since the last of his costumes had been trashed by the witch boy. His new costume, and duplicates, were arriving tomorrow.

Aqualad looked over sadly at his friend, "Any of us would in his position…" he said, the acrobat could only nod in response. "How many properties of Yashida are located outside of Japan?" he inquired. The company was not as expansive as others like Wayne Enterprises as Robin found, however most of their money came from development and exportation of goods that were commonly found in the Asian region.

"Two. A derelict refinery in South Eastern United States, which was torn down last month, and another in the Middle East." Robin explained, bringing the two locations up on screen, "But I tapped into the flight manifest that plane James hitched a ride on, it made a stop in Canada during the time the two dimensions were formed." Robin said, another screen bringing up a flight manifest, along with its flight plan back to Japan.

As the two conferred with one another however, James slid his claw against the cave wall, _I will carve my way through all of goddamn Tokyo if that's what it takes to find them.._ he thought angerly, his eyes red as both his berserker side and his rational side in a strange state of cooperation. It was as though he was so enraged that he was somehow calm, his eyes even reflected this with his irises verging on being red but still having a hazel color to them.

His body stiffened as a gentle hand clasped onto his shoulder, he turned his head and saw it was Donna. Her concerned look caused the clawed teen to turn and face her as she spoke, "We're going to find them." she stated as her other hand grabbed his other shoulder. James's mixed eyes stared into hers, the determined look in them reinforced her words, causing him to take a deep breath and hold it before letting it out.

Her hands went from his shoulders and reached to his hands but he pulled away, "I can't…..Donna I'm seeing red right now. I can't even retract my claws I'm so pissed." he explained, holding up his hands and looking at the blades. The amazon fearlessly extended her hands out and wrapped them around his the back of his hands just below where they extended out from. James watched and slowly sheathed his claws until they were back in his forearms.

He looked up at Donna and found her confidently smiling at him, "I know you'd never hurt any of us." she stated, making the young man smile before releasing his hands. The pair then approached the center of the room where Robin was hard at work, "Robin?" Donna asked.

The boy wonder looked over at them and nodded, "Right so, here's Japan." he began before pulling up a map of the island country. "Here is Tokyo." the map magnified to the city of Tokyo. The capital was about eight hundred and forty five miles squared. "And this….is all the property owned at least partially by Yashida Industries." Robin finally added, over sixty percent of the map lighting up in red.

James summed it up in two words, "Fuck me." he hissed out, running a hand over his face and into his hair. The Zeta Tube suddenly lit up and the Computer called out the arrival of X-23, the clone ran out of the teleporter tube and into the room to see the screen and the stressful look on her kin's face.

"I'm going to take a guess and say all that red on the screen is a possible location where Jerry, Heather, and Sam could be?" she asked. James nodded, making the clone gain a look of determination, "Then we check every location we can, whosever there we interrogate and shrink the search area." she stated, "We split into teams of two and pick a target….Robin could you coordinate in the field and strike off targets as we go?" she asked the boy wonder.

The acrobat nodded, "Yeah, sure thing." he said before downloading the map onto his gauntlet computer for later. "Good to go." he said, giving her a thumbs up.

X-23 nodded in appreciation, "Thanks….Aqualad, this is your team, you choose the pairs." she said, giving command back to the Atlantean.

"The Teams will be as such. Robin and Superboy, Artemis and Wonder Girl, X-23 and Miss Martian, and I will be with James." he said, looking over at the teen still in his regular clothes. "Everyone check in after you clear a property. If you get a lead, or any information that eliminates another, Radio Robin so we can coordinate accordingly." he explained. After receiving various forms of agreement and no protest, Aqualad nodded, "Alright then, Miss Martian, synch X-23 up with our telepathic link and we'll move out."

"Right." the alien nodded, her eyes glowing green for a brief moment. Laura suddenly felt what she could only describe as a bubble form in her brain. She let out a short grunt of discomfort, _'Sorry, it's a little uncomfortable at first.'_ the Martian said apologetically as Lara shook her head.

 _'_ _It's fine….wow this is weird.'_ She thought, her voice echoing a tad in her head. _'Alright everyone move out.'_

* * *

 **Tokyo Japan, November 8** **th** **2010, 19:43 p.m.**

The Team had dispersed shortly after they arrived in the land of the rising sun, it was a fair flight from Mount Justice to Tokyo. After a few hours of investigating the various businesses associated with Yashida Industries, they had crossed off a good chunk of the locations that they owned in the city. Most of the locations were business establishments that kicked their profits to Yashida, it was like legal extortion in a sense since the percentage that went to the parent company was above the normal rates.

James and Aqualad took anywhere that his family could be held. Robin and Superboy were looking into the main offices of Yoshida Industries, they would be able to find out more information regarding the various locations and cross them off the list that way. Artemis and Donna were looking into the businesses that had connections to the business, publicly known or otherwise. And finally Donna and Miss Martian were to investigate sites where the company could transfer the family though as well as look for leads as to where they may be sent to.

Wonder Girl landed on the rooftop of a small office building. As the Amazon touched down, a zipline hit the building beside the one she was on top of, Artemis slid down the line by her bow and dropped down onto the roof beside her. The building that they were currently investigating was an insurance agency that many of the businesses shared, so hopefully it would give them a more precise location for them to search. Entering through the skylight, Artemis landed on a desk with her bow drawn, scanning the room she saw there was no sign of anyone else.

Donna dropped down beside her, "Let's hope we find something." she said as she walked over to what looked like the manager's office. She grabbed the knob and twisted it with enough force to break the lock, Wonder Girl opened the door so Artemis could enter, walking over to the desk, she retried a USB drive with a virus that Robin had given them to unlock and search any computer they put it in. Plugging it into the port on the tower, the pair could only wait while Robin's program searched the computer.

Artemis sat on the desk, "This is the tenth place we've searched since we got here." The archer groaned as she rotated her neck, a few joints cracking at the shift of her head's position. She looked over at Donna, the Amazonian leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest with a concerned look. "You're worried about him aren't you?" she asked, Wonder Girl looked up at her and slightly nodded. At this point Donna didn't care who know about her and James, right now she just wanted to find his parents safe and sound but….

"…be honest Artemis. When we find them…do you think they'll still be alive?" she asked bluntly. It was the possibility that no one wanted to entertain or discuss but was a very real outcome nonetheless, she knew for a fact that James was silently contemplating that fate, and she also knew that if the worse came to pass then he might kill Shingen there on the spot.

Not that she could blame him. Amazonians were a race of warrior women, they were taught in war strategy and in war it was a given that people would die. However That didn't mean that it was right to take life, the difference was justification, and if James did cross that line he would do it for revenge, not the most just of causes. Hopefully if that does turn out to be the case, they were there to stop him from making that mistake.

The archer was quiet for a long moment, "I hope so." was all she could say before the computer chimed. Artemis turned the screen to face her, thankfully Robin had installed an auto translation protocol in the virus so that they would be able to read whatever they found. "Lets see here….this is strange, these are properties owned by Yashida, ost of these are on the list we have but there's one here we haven't seen before." she said, making Donna raise an eye.

The Amazon placed her finger on her communicator to open a line, "Wonder Girl to Robin. We have an address we need you to check."

 _'_ _Sure thing, just et me connect to the bug, checking. James? You there?'_ Robin asked in a slightly concerned tone.

 _(Meanwhile with Wolverine and Aqualad)_

"Yeah I'm here." James responded as he slammed a door to a warehouse open before exiting the structure with Kaldur close behind him. He and Kaldur had finished searching the storage facility and were about to move onto the next closest location when Robin called. The two of them had been constantly moving from location to location that was marked on the map, unfortunately they hadn't found any evidence that was valuable to them.

 _'_ _We have a residential address….ok residential is putting it lightly it's an entire family compound….your family compound .'_ Robin corrected. James had heard of places like this, family was a huge part of the Japanese culture, some families in Japan had old Japanese mansions that were made from when the family first built it. They were updated through the years on the inside of course depending on the clan which owns it, the home could be huge in size. Yashida was a old family that went back to the days of when Japan had an emperor, so James could only imagine how big it was. _'It's three hundred klicks up the road from Tokyo in the hills looking over a city called Agarashima.'_

"Then that's were we look next. Even if my family isn't there, odds are Shingen is and I'll make him talk." James stated, "Miss Martian, Laura, get the Bioship."

 _'_ _Rodger we'll-'_

 _(Meanwhile with Miss Martian and X-23)_

"-look out!" Miss Martian cried out as she used her telekinesis to push Laura out of the way of an bullet that embedded into the concrete ground. They had decided to investigate a shipping yard where most of Yashida's exporting came from, the area had stacks of shipping containers spread about the yard. The gunshot came from the top container of one of the stacks, Laura unsheathed her claws and broke into a sprint towards the direction the shot came from while Miss Martian remained invisible. "Negative on that pickup, we're under attack here by someone!." she radioed into the communicator before flying after Laura.

The clone ducked between containers as another shot rang throughout the air, _'Miss Martian do you have a visual?'_ she asked through the mental link as she sniffed the air for a scent to track their attacker. M'gann had been cloaking herself as soon as they touched down in Japan so their attacker might not know she was there, and hopefully she could use that to her advantage.

M'gann flew over the yard scanning the tops of containers for any sign of their opponent, she caught the sight of a rifle on the top of a three story high container. Lowering through the air she stopped in front of the vessel and inspected the firearm, _'X-23, I've found the rifle used to shoot art you but no sign of it's owner.'_ she informed while Laura was making her way through the containers.

The former assassin peeked around the corner of a container, seeing that the row was empty she walked out and made her way down the isle formed by the placement of storage. Her eyes darted left and right when she passed in front of an opening between containers, her ears suddenly picked up a click that made her head turn and see a grenade with a pulled pin come at her, "Shit!" she cursed as she dove back and rolled onto her feet as the explosive went off, looking through the smoke her eyes narrowed, "Kimura." she stated as her former handler stepped through the smoke, tossing a grenade between her hands without a care.

"Laura, good to see you again. Your looking much better than from the last time I saw you." the sadist said, her brittle smile making he clone of Logan grit her teeth. She stood up and immediately charged, letting loose a roar that reverberated through the yad as she slashed at Kimura's face, only for her claws to phase through as a she palmed the clone's chest hard enough to knock her back with a cracked rib or two. "You never learn your lesson do you?" she asked before pulling the pin on the grenade and lobbing it towards Laura who swung her foot out and kicked it away.

Kimura was able to shift her density at her command, not to the degree of Martian Manhunter but she could make things pass through certain parts of her body as well as make sections of her body hard enough that even adamantium couldn't cut through it. She was the perfect countermeasure to someone like Laura or James. _'M'gann get in contact with the others, tell them to get to the compound. I'll-'_

 _'_ _I will not leave you!'_ M'gann defiantly stated back as Kimura charged she at X-23. She swung her foot but Laura raised her knee to block it before kicking her foot out with her blade popping out, however the point it impacted scrapped against the handler's skin without leaving a mark. Laura noticed that there was a vile of green substance on Kimura's hip, it was the Trigger substance.

But what Kimura didn't know was that she was cured of it's effects, _'Trust me I got this. Get the ship, pick up the others, I'll be right behind you.'_ She thought as she thrust her claws forward. The sadist kicked off her one support leg and backflipped out Laura's reach. "I've been waiting a long time to kill you." Laura hissed out as she advanced.

"Sure your super friends would allow that?" the handler replied as she reached for the vile and uncorked it before splashing it onto Laura. The clone froze in place, Kimura smiled as she walked towards her former plaything, "Especially when I send you after that little club you have-" she stopped as Laura's hand swiped out and sliced her face, "AUGH!" she cried out as she clutched the side of her face, two claw marks scared her left cheek.

"That was for my mother." Laura hissed out as Kimura looked at her with a bewildered expression. "You can't control me anymore. So let's see how long you can last now." she challenged before leaping at her handler, continuing their fight.

As the two assassins fought, M'gann flew away from the ship yard and pressed her hand to her ear, "Miss Martian to Team, me and Laura encountered an enemy, she's engaged but I'm on my way to rendezvous with everyone else." she said across the open channel.

 _'_ _We got some problems of our own here!'_ Robin's voice broke out over the radio, _'Me and Superboy are under attack by the same guys who tried to kidnap James.'_ he explained, making the Martian halt in midair.

 _'_ _Same here! Me and Donna were making our way towards Robin and Superboy and we got jumped!'_ The Archer added. _'James, Aqualad?'_

 _(Meanwhile with James and Aqualad)_

When the undead soldiers of Shingen showed up in the alleyway, James leapt into the fray without a second thought. Brandishing his claws he jammed them through the skull of one of the ninjas and tossed the carcass into one of the undead assassins, his blades slashed though two of their torsos while his other claws sliced another's jugular. He felt a sword cut into his back but the pain was drowned out with his rage, tuning around he clocked a swing of the sword with one set of claws as he drove the other three up the wielder's chest.

Aqualad could only watch as the feral hero was swarmed with opponents, he reached his arms back and grasped the handles and readied to join the fight before James threw the ones on top of him off, a dagger embedded in his neck. The Atlantean decided that James probably did not need any help fighting.

Unsheathing his foot claws he swung his foot out in a wide arc, cutting through the faces of four opponents as they tried to get up and he shot his hand out and his blades embedded into another.

James's head turned on a swivel, there were five of them left that were still able to fight, charging at the one closest to him he jammed both sets of claws through his face before kicking him in the body with enough force to rip the head off the shoulders and tossing it aside before moving on to the next one which he jabbed in the gullet with his right claws before pulling them out and jamming his opposite ones into their chest, killing it again as it fell back.

The remaining three charged at once at this point James had torn the dagger out of his neck and threw it at one of them while he dove at the other two with his claws running them through. Pulling his arms back, he looked around to make sure there were no more enemies left. Tuning his head to Kaldur, he saw the Atlantean was calmly making his way towards them, "That was…brief." he said simply as James retracted his claws. "Nevertheless, our friends are in trouble." he stated.

James frowned, he couldn't leave his friends to fight but he also couldn't ignore the lead on his family. Aqualad saw the conflicted expression on the teen's face, "I will go to Artemis and Wonder Girl and assist them, you go on ahead. Save your family." he said, walking over and placing a hand on his friend's shoulder as a sign of reassurance on his shoulder.

James pressed his lips into a frim line, not entirely happy with the idea of leaving his friends behind, "I'll be back as soon as I can." he said earnestly before running out towards the street.

Turning out from the alley, James was reminded just how busy the city of Tokyo was during the night. The neon signs made the sides of buildings into rainbows of color, the streets were crowded with people going about their business. So they did not take a foreigner pushing his way through them all to kindly, or at least that's what James was led to believe if he was translating what they were saying correctly.

As he ventured further into the city he caught sight of a familiar word on the side of a building in Japanese, garage. He needed a ride, so a parking garage was the best place to search, sprinting across the road to the garage he hopped over the automatic gate and searched for a vehicle he could appropriate for a short time. Running up the ramp he caught sight of a guy stepping off his motorcycle, "Perfect!" he said to himself as he ran towards the bystander as he was about to pocket the keys.

James snatched them out of his hand and hopped on the bike, the owner however grabbed James by his shoulder and turned the teen to yell at him. However his words died in his throat as James's claws popped from his green bloodied hands, " _Sorry, I got to borrow this!'_ he spoke in Japanese. The owner of the bike fell back onto his rear before turning over and running off, James retracted his class before revving the bike's engine.

Pulling out of the parking garage he shrived out into the road and took off at top speed.

* * *

 **Yashida Family Compound, November 7** **th** **2010, 20:00 p.m.**

The Yashida compound was nestled on the cliff, the rear of the compound looked out towards the port town of Agarashima. The compound itself was enclosed behind a Shinto style wall that was twelve feet tall with a tiled roof that went out to the cliff. The gate was made of metal and wood, but six adamantium claws cut through in the shape of a X easily. Stepping through the triangular hole created by his cuts. The driveway ended shortly into the gate, taking a whiff of the air he caught the scent of his family, he was close.

Walking onto the stone path, he looked around the compound for where they could possibly be. There were four buildings in total, one beside the entrance which was the size of a single room household, two of them were on either side in the center, they were equal in massive size. They appeared to be guest houses, at least James assumed they were with how big the one near the cliff was, it's approximated size was that to rival a mansion.

Walking up to the porch, he slid the paper and wooden door open and stepped inside the main house. James walked through the home with his blades extend out from between his knuckles, the wooden floor echoed his footsteps as he fallowed the scent of his family through the house. He walked into the dining room, where the table was barely a foot off the ground and pads for where people sat on the ground to eat.

He fallowed the scent up the stairway to the next level of the building, reaching the top the feral her stopped to take in the open floor. It was like a museum, glass casing that contained ancient samurai armors, swords, shields, spears, and other weaponry from a time long ago. Continuing up the stairs to the third floor he picked up another scent, reaching the top of the stairs he entered a mostly barren room, with paper thin walls and a window looking out over the cliff where the lights of the town in the distance caught his eyes.

As well as the fallen over forms of his family in front of the window, "Mom! Dad! Sam!" he yelled as he ran over and fell to their side. He grabbed Sam first and tried to shake him awake, "Sam! Sammy! Come on brother wake the hell up!" he demanded as he started to shake his brother more forcefully. When his eyes didn't open, he laid his head against his chest and listened.

The beating of his heart brought a shaky breath out from James's lips, "Oh thank god…but why aren't you…" he trailed off before looking at his parents. He tried the same with them, gently slapping the side of his father's face but to no avail, he could smell traces of a strange substance from them.

He suddenly caught the unfamiliar scent and turned around with his claws popping out, sitting with his legs crossed on the other side of the room was Shingen. He had seen pictures of him, but what was strange was that he looked no different from the photos of him. And those are almost as old as he is, "You finally come Gijin." he stated evenly.

"Shut. Up." James growled out as he stood and began stalking toward the samurai, "I don't care if your my kin, I don't care if your however old, you kidnapped my family.' he spat out, noticing the sword in front of the man.

Shingen narrowed his eyes, "Family? You dare spout to me about family? You are nothing more than a bastard that my daughter had with a animal." he said spitefully. The young adult felt his teeth grind together, "Your very existence brings nothing but dishonor to the Yashida name. Which I intend to purge." he said as he stood up from his spot, picking up the sword with the sheath still on as he did.

James stared him down for a moment, "Take the blade out…..I'm not going to kill an unarmed old man." he stated, fully intending to take the man's life. He had crossed the line, Shingen took his family and did something to them that prevented them from waking up and he knew that Shingen wouldn't divulge how to cure them.

He hated the idea of killing but for once both his inner animal and his human side were in agreement, Shingen needed to die.

"You haven't earned the right to fight me man to man. Let alone the honor of dueling with my blade." Shingen stated, James frowned but did not say anything. Shingen was part of the League of Assassins, meaning he was skilled with any weapon he could get his hands on. He had even beaten his father with nothing but a practice sword.

 _I got to be smart about this._ James thought before Shingen suddenly leapt at the teen with the sword swinging down onto him, James quickly raised both his claws and blocked the sheath. Shingen's foot planted onto the teen's chest that he left open to attack by blocking. _May be old but he hits like a train._ James thought as he stumbled back as Shingen pressed on his attack, slashing the sheathed sword, James raised his forearms to block the attacks.

As the sheath collided with his forearm he grabbed the shaft and swung his head forward, headbutting Shingen and pulling the sheathe off the blade as the man stumbled back. Shingen's forehead bled from the impact of James's metallic skull, he watched as the feral teen's reddened eyes locked with his, grabbing the sheathe with both hands he considered breaking it over his knee simply to spite the old man.

However he simply set it down on the ground respectfully, Shingen raised an eye in surprise, "So even an animal knows respect." he stated as James drew his claws once again.

"Shut up and fight." he responded simply, his instincts leaned towards caution, he may not be able to be killed by a sword but he could still be taken out of commission. _Mom, Dad, and Sam are right behind me, I need to at least get Shingen away from them and then fight him._ he thought as Shingen charged forward and thrust his blade towards the teen. James parried the blade away and uppercutted his other claws, Shingen dodged and slashed the blade across James's chest.

The shogun watched as the wound stitched itself back together with a scowl of disgust before resuming his attack by leaping at James with his sword thrusting out. James let the blade sink in through his chest, piercing a lung as he grabbed the man by the arms and leapt backwards over his family and through the window.

The three story fall to the ground was short, James impacted the stone ground with Shingen on top of him, driving the sword into James up to it's hilt. The teen's hands still held Shingen in place as he swung his foot up and popped his claws, slicing the man up his back. Shingen rolled off the hero and out of his blades' reach, the teen then grabbed the handle of the katanna and forced it out of both him and the ground beneath him, "GrrrrraahhhhHH!" he roared as he yanked the sword free.

Standing up from the ground he turned to his opponent, "There it is. The animal. Finally you show your true self." Shingen stated as James's eyes turned red. The next step he took, an arrow lodged in his shoulder, whirling around at the new attacker, he found that the back yard leading out to the cliffside was now filled with more of the undead assassins. "And Like an animal, you will be killed like an animal." the shogun stated as he relaxed his stance.

James could smell the arrow, it had poison on the end of it. Not just the arrow, all the weapons that the undead wielded were coated in toxin. His head snapped back over to Shingen, "When I'm done with you men, I'll get to you." he stated before taking the sword's handle and twisting it so he was holding it reverse style and implanting it into the ground before running into the crowd of ninjas, his berserker rage taking over completely as he let out a roar that echoed over the cliffside.

* * *

 _(Meanwhile with Laura)_

The docks were not the best place to be right now.

Laura and Kimura's fight was brutal, especially for the clone of Logan. While she had pulled a surprise attack by faking the trigger scent taking hold, Kimura was just as much a match without the trump card. Counting her injuries she had four broken bones, six ligaments, a burst eardrum, and two teeth knocked out of her mouth. Kimura didn't have a scratch on her except for the one she surprised her with, even as she swung her foot claw across her former handler's mid-section.

Kimura grabbed the limb and drove her elbow into the side of her knee, the pain of her knee breaking made her bite back a cream and land a right cross on Kimura. However the assassin pulled her close with her broken leg and drove a haymaker into Laura's stomach, knocking the clone onto her back, Kimura slammed her heel into her other knee breaking it. She then used her knees to pin X-23 to the ground and wrap her hands around the clone's neck.

"Bet your wishing we covered all your bones in adamatum aren't you?" Kimura asked with a venomous smile as she strangled X-23. With her arms pinned and leg she could move Laura still tried to fight Kimura off her but the weight on her arms prevented her from doing so. "I bet your little brother would put up more of a fight….hmmm, maybe after Shingen is finished with him I'll keep him around." Laura bared her teeth and her eyes narrowed, "I'll keep him chained up somewhere, and If I ever need a little toy to play with, I'll dig him up." she said with a sickening purr in her voice.

Laura snarled with what little breath she still had as her eyes turned red, Kimura grinned, "Ah, there you-" she started before Laura suddenly chomped her teeth clean through Kimura's thumb. "-AGH! You little bitch!" she yelled, falling back as she held her now bleeding hand. She had been completely caught off guard by that but Laura used this opportunity to slash her claws at Kimura's throat, however the blades phased through the skin of her jugular. The handler glared at her, "You worthless piece of shit!" she shouted, ramming her foot into Laura's chin, "I was planning on locking you up somewhere just like I used to, but before I did, I'd rip those fucking claws out of your hands and feet and use them to cut you every day."

Kimura stood over Laura and slammed her boot into the clone's face, she continued the brutal assault without a shred of mercy. Laura felt her nose break, her jaw dislocate, her skull crack as she assaulted. However it came to an abrupt halt when Laura saw, through what little vison she still had, a black and white blur ram into Kimura hard enough she went into the side of a container. The blur leaned down and Laura felt a hand cup her cheek, "It's ok sister, your safe."

"D-Donna?" Laura wheezed out as she sat upright, she looked in the direction Kimura went flying and saw the assassin was now embedded in the side of a shipping container and was trying to get out. "Least I can stand." the clone said as she shakily stood up, her legs not entirely healed yet. She was in no shape to continue the fight, but she needed to finish this.

As she tried to take a step, Donna placed a firm hand on her shoulder, Laura turned to the warrior, "Laura you are in no condition to fight. I'll handle her while you recover." the amazon stated as stepped past the healing clone towards Kimura as she pulled herself free from the wall of the container. The amazon's glare at the woman would make mere men cower from the hate that filled her eyes, Kimura didn't so much as flinch, "You are nothing but a disgrace." she stated simply.

The assassin rolled her eyes, "Boo fucking hoo. Says the perfect little Amazon-" she stopped when Wonder Girl's threw a left cross, she raised her forearm to block the strike only to have Donna drive her other fist into her gut then upper cutting her as she dubbed over from the second strike. Kimura staggered back, she tasted iron in her mouth. She sneered at Donna as the Amazonian continued advancing forward.

"James explained to me how your powers work, you can phase parts of your body or harden them son that you can't get hurt." Wonder Girl began as Kimura punched at her, Donna palmed the side of her wrist before driving her elbow into the assasson's face, rattling her entire head with the force behind it. "He didn't see the flaw in it. You can avoid damage from physical attacks with blades, it's what made you perfect for keeping Laura in line, but when I hit you? I can rip a metal wall part, the force behind my punches could rupture your spleen." she explained before palm striking the assassin dead in the chest, causing her to grab her chest and cough up some blood as she fell to the ground.

Donna stood above he with her fists clenched at her sides, "It's like putting a egg in a glass jar, the concussive force I make could break your internal organs without leaving a bruise. It's all internal." she explained as Kimura continued coughing. Donna grabbed her lasso of persuasion and tossed it around the assassin and wrapped it around her, constraining her as Donna grabbed the rope and lifted her up off the ground and set her over by the shipping container before running over to Laura.

The clone had watched the confrontation unfold with a look of awe, Donna had taken down Kimura without hesitation or struggle. But the part that amazed her the most was that she discovered a weakness that she never thought of, "Are you alright? The others will be here in a few minutes, I flew ahead to see if you needed help." she explained.

Laura looked over to Kimura as she struggled against the lasso that held her in place, she was tempted to limp over and kick her in the head a few times as simple payback. She killed those thoughts, she would never stoop to Kimura's level of abuse, "I'm fine…just give me a few minutes….that lasso will hold her right?" she asked.

The amazon smiled at her, "That's the lasso of persuasion, it's as strong as my will. And that's stronger than iron." she said proudly. Laura chuckled to herself, of that she had no doubt whatsoever.

* * *

 **Yashida Family Compound, November 7** **th** **2010, 20:20 p.m.**

The backyard of the Yashida compound had been turned into battleground, corpses of the ninjas led by Shingen littered the courtyard. James was a perpetual whirlwind of carnage, each swipe of his claws brought down at least one of his foes with a green bloody splatter. The feral hero clawed through a pair of assassins, hearing another come up behind him he turned and parried it's blade with his hand facing down while his other claws drove straight through the undead. Lifting him up into the air singlehandedly, he kicked his foot out into another's face as he tossed the body aside and used his empty claws to stab the one he kicked through the eyes.

As the last one fell, James took it he surroundings, the bodies were already disintegrating but their stench hung in the air like a stain. James looked worse for wear as well, his shirt and jacket were nothing but tatters now, his pants were cut and sliced a with dried blood stains on the torn fabric and his shoes had been long since tossed off in his flurry of rage. However what stood out most were his wounds, the weapons the ninjas had used were coated with poison. It slowed his healing factor to the degree that his torso was bloodied with cuts and his metallic ribs where showing on his left side, there was also a cut over his right eye but the eyeball itself was undamaged.

If he had some time he was sure his wounds would be mended within the hour, but with how much damage was done if he suffered another serious injury he could 'die' for a while before his healing factor kicked back in. But he was not done fighting yet, sitting in front of the back door to the house, in front of where James had imbedded his sword in the ground his grandfather Shingen. He had watched the feral warrior carve through the horde of undead, snarling, growling, and roaring as he did so.

Wolverine walked over the remains of the ninjas, his claws dripping with both his and their blood, "As I've thought. You and your father are but one in the same. Mindless animals who give into your most basic instincts." the shogun stated as James closed in, "You are nothing more than a weapon of destruction, and like your father whatever you love dies." he added as James stopped in front of the sword.

"…pick it up." James said simply, making Shingen's eyes widen as he looked into the red eyes of the teen. "I told you. I won't kill an unarmed man….so pick your sword up….and we'll finish this." he explained. James's voice carried no growl to it, not like it usually did when he entered his Berserker Rage. Instead it was even, not calm but fully aware.

Shingen stared at him for a moment before standing up and walking to the sword, before he grabbed the handle James spoke again. "Before we do this….I need to know. How are you alive?" James asked. Ever since he had discovered it was his own grandfather who was behind this, it raised the dire question of how was he not still dead. He had been in such a rage that he didn't even question it until now.

Shingen looked back down at the blade, "I have been a part of the League of Assassins for as long as I've had my company." he began. "Ra's trusted me with the Lazarus Pit's location should he ever fall, and I did my duty. However the day your father slew me, I had my most trusted take me to the pit. I was revived….and I took a sample of the waters with me." he explained.

"From that I used it to bring the warriors whom you've vanquished back to do my bidding. I also found a side effect." he went on. "The pit's waters, when tainted, places it's users into a comatose state…the test subjects I've used have yet to wake up." he explained, causing the hero's fists to shake. "Your family are in a state of limbo Gijin. Neither living nor dead, and they will remain that way for all of time….killing them would have been too simple, it would have brought dishonor onto my house. But this way…."

James was utterly silent, minutes ticked by before he once again spoke. "Pick up your sword….." he said simply as he raised his claws. Shingen reached his hands out to the sword and pulled it out from the ground and raised it over his head. For the one brief moment, neither of them moved. James's eyes stayed locked on Shingen, occasionally flickering to the sword. Shingen did the same with James and his claws.

Within a second, Shingen swung the sword back and tuned it's direction to it was swiping up from the ground at James, he swung his left arm across the air and locked it with the sword as he stepped forward and thrusted his other claws at Shingen's throat.

 _SNIKT!_

Shingen's body fell back onto the concrete, with James standing over him.

Shingen's head tilted up, the old man looking at the teen bewildered, "You're wrong." James stated simply as his eyes turned from enraged red to his normal chestnut brown. the fist he at struck with had it's claws retracted just as he hit Shingen, punching him square in the throat hard enough to knock him down and take away his voice for the time being. "I'm not my father….he and I are a lot a like. But the one thing that makes me different from him? I found out because of you." he said, kneeling down to pick up the sword that Shingen wielded.

"I first discovered my berserker rage, my inner animal, when my friends were in danger. At first, I couldn't control it. Every day was a battle to lock it up and bury the key unless I needed it." he went on as he stood. The hero inspected the sword, looking at his reflection in the steel blade. "And the moment you took my family from me? That cage I stuffed it in broke like a dam with too much water behind it…..and you know what? I've been in full control today." he explained before looking at Shingen, "I'm not an animal, but I can use the animal when I want to….so thanks for that." he said dryly.

Shingen's throat was no longer sore and could speak, "But….you-"

"Didn't kill you. Yeah….I want to. God knows I want to. But if I do? You win, you get an honorable death at the hands of me….but no. You don't get out that easy." he said, kneeling down in front of the man, his fate filled eyes locked with Shingen's. "You lost your battle against me, I won't kill you because I know for a fact you can't live with the shame….but I also know you owe me. Honor bound or whatever, but here's my decree. You can't die, you live with this shame for as long as you walk this earth because I know that's worse than death for you. For you….that's true suffering." James said before standing.

Shingen's jaw clenched in rage, because every word that James said was true. "You….you…"

'Gaijin. It means outsider….yeah, and I'm also the only son of your daughter. Mariko and Logan, I'm the new Wolverine, but unlike my father….I found a way to make you suffer." he said coldly before swinging his foot upside his head, knocking him out. The teen let out a deep breath before looking up to the sky. He could hear the Bioship approaching. A few minutes later the uncloaked ship appeared and his teammates dropped down into the backyard, Laura leading the way before stopping when she saw him and Shingen. The clone's eyes narrowed before she saw the somber expression James had, "They're upstairs….." he said simply, lowering his head.

M'gann covered her mouth in horror, the emotions she felt coming off James telling her all she needed to know. Donna on the other hand felt like the carpet had been pulled out from under her, her legs carried her over to James. Her hands reached up to the sides of his face and tilted his head, their eyes met as tears began to brim within his eyes. He released the sword in his hand and embraced her, burying his head into her shoulder as tears flowed freely.

He felt his legs give out from both exhaustion and the wounds but Donna still held him upright, his nails digging into the fabric of her uniform. He felt a hand grip his shoulder, Conner, trying his best to comfort James but not knowing how. He could sense the others around him, each of them trying to hold him up along with Donna. "Thank you….thank you all…" he sobbed out, grateful that his friends had done their absolute best to try and help.

* * *

 **Mount Justice, November 8** **th** **2010, 05:00 a.m.**

Jerry, Heather, and Sam had been transferred to a Star Labs facility as soon as the bioship arrived back at the cave with Red Tornado, Batman, Zatanna, and Black Canary waiting for them. Laura explained the events of the past day to them. Kimura was dropped off into Japanese Police custody and was scheduled to be transferred to Belle Reave within the next month. However Shingen was being kept in Japan, he had no powers whatsoever so he wasn't applicable to be transferred.

Batman assured the Team that they would do their best to correct this, however James simply didn't care, and made his way to the showers where he changed into his bedwear and went to his room afterwards.

He had finally managed to fall asleep after crying so much he was unable to anymore.

However the sudden weight beside him in bed caused him to sit up and unsheathed his claws, turning his head to the source of the disturbance, he found the perpetrator sitting beside him with his claws brandishing right in front of her face, "Donna!" he exclaimed before retracting his claws out of the startled Amazonian's face, "I-I'm so sorry I…." he started before cupping his face in his hands, "God damnit…." he cursed.

He felt the amazon's hands grab his wrists and pull them away from his face, forcing him to look at her as she interlocked their fingers together, "It's ok." she assured. James stared down at his hands as she brought them up between their faces and leaned her face against the back of his hand without a shred of fear or concern. "See? Your fine….in fairness I should have knocked first." she added, flashing him a small smile. He choked out a chuckle as he shook his head, he turned his hand over so her was instead cupping her cheek in his palm while his other grasped her hand.

The first thought that Donna had was to ask him how he was doing, a stupid question considering all that's occurred today. A glint caught the corner of her eye, looking over she saw the sword that Shingen had wielded was propped up against the wall. The sheath of the blade was blade red in color with the handle matching in hue, the blade guard and end of the handle were gold with a red thread hung off.

She returned her attention to James as his hand brushed though her hair and curled some strands around his fingers absentmindedly, she leaned her head forward and kissed him for a brief moment. The feral hero's head laid against her shoulder, Jaem's forehead resting against her the warrior's chin as she eased them both down onto the bed, "Hey Donna…." he began.

"Yes?" she asked readily.

"…..Donna I….I love you." he said in a small whisper, Donna's blue eyes broadened at the confession. Her heart hammered in her chest as she thought of what she should reply with, she cared deeply for James, more than anyone she's ever met but- "You don't need to say anything I just…..I need you to know that…ok?" James asked in a monotoned voice, making the amazon's heart drop.

Was he saying it because he believed he might not get a chance to? _But why…of course…._ she thought sadly as she figured out the answer. Today James had all but lost his family, and there was no guarantee that they would ever wake up from what Shingen did to them. He never got to say that to any of his family before they met their fate, the declaration of love was genuine, but was admitted for the wrong reason.

But it caused Donna to think, did she feel the same way?

James was the first person she ever had a romantic relationship with, she thought of him when she woke up in the morning. When they saw each other and spoke, it made them happy, and he opened up to her like no one else on the team even though he knew them longer. But most importantly, she helped him become a better person, she pushed him forward and he did the same with her…..wasn't that itself love?

Her hand pulled his head back so they were looking each other in the eyes, "I love you too." she replied happily with a smile. "And don't you ever forget it James." she added as his eyes widened a small smile finally tugged at his lips.

"Hard not to…night Donna." he said as he laid his head down on the pillow beside her. The amazon decided to forgo the bedsheets and instead reached climbed over onto James, causing the berserker's eyes to widen, "D-Donna?" he questioned as she adjusted herself so she was resting against his shoulder wither her body pressed up against him.

"Your like an electric blanket…" James didn't look amused by the comparison, "I like it." she added, making James release a chuckle. The young man closed his eyes to try and sleep, he listened to the calming sound of Donna breathing. His breath soon matched her rhythmic inhales and exhales, the drowsiness of sleep soon returned and he soon drifted off into unconsciousness. Donna reached her hand out and picked James's hand up and wrapped it around her midsection like placing a blanket over her.

* * *

 **Tokyo Japan, November 8** **th** **2010, 06:00 p.m.**

Shingen Yashida sat patiently in his cell on his folded legs with his palms on his knees. Between the space of his legs was a note that was written in traditional Japanese calligraphy, beneath the paper was a short blade called a Tantō. The cell door was opened with a shadowy figure standing behind him with a sword in his hand, Shingen reached his hand out to the small knife, "You honor me with this, and for that I am truly grateful." Shingen said in Japanese.

Unsheathing the blade he inspected the knife's edge for inspection, the blade was sharp enough to do it's task. "I don't do it for you, I do it for him…..he wouldn't sully his hands with your blood. But I will." the other man said as he raised the sword in a swinging position. Shingen closed his eyes as he poised the knife in front of his stomach before plunging it in, he bent forward from the pain before quickly slashing across his stomach before the gruff man swiped the katanna, decapitating Shingen.

The body fell forward as the head rolled across the ground, the man with the sword took a cloth out of his pocket and cleaned the blood from the blade before folding it and placing it down on the ground. The man walked out of the cell where the guard had been knocked out. Closing the door behind him, he leaned set the blade down in front of the door beside the knocked down guard.

The man grabbed the guard and sat hum upright against the wall, "Sorry Bub…..Had some personal business to attend to." the man said before walking down the hall away from the cell.

* * *

 **AN: And so comes a end to Shingen.**

 **Now I mentioned a new costume for James in this chapter and if you want to see it, check out my deviantart page for the costume, I think you guys will be pleased. Now originally when I came up with this chapter, it was VERY different in both pacing and story, but I think the changes I made are for the better and hopefully they are.**

 **So until next time everyone, stay tuned!**


	19. Chapter 19 (Coldhearted)

Coldhearted

 **AN: Now there is a love scene in this chapter, just a fair warning. You'll see when it's coming from a mile off so if you want to skip past it then do so.**

* * *

 **Mount Justice, November 11** **th** **2010, 05:00 a.m.**

James awoke in the early hours of the morning as he usually did, reaching his hand up he rubbed the sand from his eyes with his right hand. He looked over to his left, he had to stop himself from chuckling at the sight before him. Donna had once again snuck into his room last night as she had done since they returned from Japan, not that James minded of course. After she was sure everyone was asleep she would fly through the halls to his room and lay down beside him, and James wasn't against waking up to the sight and smell of Donna Tory with him in bed.

The amazon nestled into his side under the blanket, he could feel her arms wrapped around his left arm and hugging it against her like a girl would with a stuffed animal. However there was a slight dilemma to this situation, Donna was a beautiful young woman who was apparently liked to cuddle in her sleep. And feeling her pressing into his side caused James to wake up in more than one way, and it didn't make it easier when the Amazonian slid her leg over his.

 _Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it. Will of iron, will of iron man!_ He thought to himself before Donna let out a soft moan. James didn't know what he did to deserve this, _Why couldn't she snore? At least snoring isn't arousing, or hog the blankets, I don't even need blankets!_ he thought to himself. He could wake her up but he didn't want to wake her just because he couldn't sleep, _Don't think about it, don't think about how close she is, or how amazing her scent is…or how she's just wearing a tank top and a pair of shorts….or how you could just rip them…...ok let's calm that berserker._ he thought to himself somewhat jokingly.

His mind drifted to their confession of love, he was in a state of self-loathing when he uttered those words to her and the minute they came out he regretted saying it. He didn't mean to just throw that at Donna but it was out and he couldn't take it back, but when she reciprocated his feelings…it made the loss he suffer not so hard to bare.

His family was still in a comatose state and was being taken care of in the top of the line science institute Star Labs to try and bring them out of it. So as slim as it was there was still hope for them.

The weight on his side shifted, jogging the young man from his thoughts as Donna woke up. Letting out a yawn as she lifted her head, she blinked a few times before noticing she was all but spooning James and that he was awake and smiling at her. She returned the smile, "Good morning." she greeted before leaning close to James's face and planted a brief kiss on his lips.

"Yeah it is." he said happily as Donna untangled herself from him before sitting up and stretching her arms out the amazon thrusted her chest out, causing her back to pop like firecrackers to James. Through the back of her tank top he could make out the lines of her muscular back as she tensed, James could only admire her physique and breathtaking beauty as he smiled.

The amazon felt his eyes on her and turned her head and met James's eyes with her own, "As much as I'd like to stay in bed all day with you, we do need to get Wally's party ready." she reminded, causing the feral hero to roll his eyes. Wally had been heavily hinting that he wanted to have a surprise party here at the cave for his birthday, so the Team decided to throw him a party. However since he, Donna, M'gann, Conner, and Zatanna lived at Mount Justice it was up to them to set everything up.

Leaning up from the bed, he reached his arms out and wrapped them around Donna's midsection, "Mmmmgghhhh, let's just stay in bed. Let the others handle it." he groaned in protest as he leaned back and pulled Donna into the bed with him, her body falling back onto his. Donna let out chuckle, she found the idea appealing as well. However the amazon's face pinkened when she felt something hard pressing up against her backside, and from the way James stiffened the moment they connected she cold guess he felt it too.

"Is that a claw or are you just happy to see me?" Donna asked, turning her head back and looking at the young man with a playful grin. James snorted out a short laugh, however he couldn't meet her eyes until she tilted his chin up to look at her, "James, I'm flattered, and….I wouldn't be against taking care of your needs." she admitted. She felt him twitch, "But…thin walls." she explained simply, causing the young man's head to fall back in slight disappointment.

James and Donna both loved one another but sex was big step. However the only time they could be alone was in Mount Justice where Red Tornado and their Teammates lived. God forbid one of them walk by his door and someone hear something "M'gann would be scarred for life." he joked, triggering Donna to giggle as she pulled James's arms off her and floated up from the bed onto the floor. James tossed the covers off and walked over to the closet where he undressed from his pajamas.

Donna watched from the side as James kicked off his pants, leaving him in his boxes and allowing her to get a good sight of him. With both James's healing factor and the training the Team regularly partook in, the feral hero's body was in peak condition that would fill women with desire and men with envy. Her sight wandered into his closet, on the rack was his new suit.

The overall design was similar to how his other ones were except this one had a few minor adjustments. For one the black on the sides went past his belt and over his hips, under his arms there were three yellow tiger stripes on the black above his belt and two below the belt as well as one on each shoulder. the boots were all black save for the two yellow stripped ports where his foot claws emerged from. The gloves were simplified as well with only being black in color. In stealth the yellow would become charcoal grey and the stripes, eyes, and belt would turn dark red. "So are you going to change your suit again or are you finally going to stick with one?" she asked/

James smirked as he pulled on a pair of old jeans and his leather jacket that Laura had gotten him with his motorcycle with a long sleeve thermal shirt that was olive green, "Well I was thinking of making one with brown instead of black. Why?" he asked. Donna could only shake her head and chuckle.

"Come on, We got a party to set up. I'll get dressed and meet you in the kitchen." she said as James walked over to her. Reaching his hand out to her's, he pulled Donna over as he leaned in and kissed her. He laid another on her cheek as he pulled away, as he leaned to the side of her neck she pulled back. "Nice try, party now. Then kiss me like that later." she chided as she backed away towards the door.

James shrugged with a playful grin, "So boiler room in half an hour?"

"James!" she blurted out in laughter.

"Ah, I get you. Fifteen minutes." he joked, Donna shaking her head as she walked out of the room, leaving James to chuckle to himself before leaving his room and heading for the kitchen. Making his way through the base, his nose picked up the scent of snow outside the base. Snow didn't have an exact smell to it, but snow could somewhat cover the more natural scents so it was more like what he couldn't smell.

Walking into the lounge and kitchen he went to the counter and grabbed an orange from the bowl, unsheathing one of his claws he began to peel the fruit's skin off before slicing a section off and eating it. Taking a seat near the counter, he finished eating his orange before walking over to the fridge and taking out the supplies needed to make a cake. They also had to make snacks, get drinks, put up the banner, and get the right number of candles. "Thank god we just restocked." he said to himself as he pulled out a carton of eggs and a tub of butter.

As the young man set the ingredients on the counter, he picked up the scent of M'gann closing in, "Donna told me you'd be in here." the Martian said as she entered the kitchen. When she saw that he was getting ingredients for the cake, she gave him a friendly smile, "Oh James you didn't need to do that. Me and Zatanna are taking care of the food, and Conner will handle the decorating." she explained.

"Oh….then what should Donna and I do?" he asked. Ever since their last mission, everyone had been giving him space and time to grieve, and as much as he apricated it all he really just wanted to do something other than sit around and feel sorry for himself.

M'gann thought for a moment as she used her telekinesis to open the cupboards and pull out the remaining ingredients. "Honestly? I don't know what else there is to do. We got him his gifts already, I can't think of anything else to do." she said with a shrug, she and Zatanna had gotten most of the materials for the party already so all that was needed to do was prepare the food. And between Zatanna's magic and her telekinesis that chore would be done in no time.

The Martian watched as James folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the counter, "Well there goes my morning and afternoon….I don't think there's anything else I have to do today." he said. Usually he had something he needed to do around the base, be it training, working on his bike, flying the Bioship for practice, or give his mission brief to Red Tornado. However after returning home from their last mission he hadn't the need to do any of those tasks.

M'gann gave him a smile, "Well Donna said the same thing more or less. She told me to tell you to meet her outside the front entrance." she said, causing James to perk up. Deciding not to keep his lady waiting, the young man nodded to M'gann in thanks before heading for the second floor's front entrance.

When he reached the doorway to the side of the mountain, the doorway opened up as he approached with the door opening out to the side of the mountain. The once green scenery that surrounded Mount Justice had been covered in a white sheet with the snowfall that was still falling from the cloudy sky. Walking down the side of the mountain, James sniffed the air to try and pick up Donna's scent.

As he lifted his head back to try and pick up her trail, a ball od snow hit him square in the face, "Gah! What the-" he started as he rubbed the snow off his face only to have another ball whizzed by his face. Looking in the direction the projectile flew from he caught sight of his attacker standing just in front of the tree line at the end of the field.

Donna was smiling triumphantly as she caught a snowball she tossed up into the air, the Amazonian was dressed in her civilian clothing with her jacket buttoned up, covering the red shirt with golden stars. The feral hero grinned as he crouched down and picked up some snow in each hand, "You sure you want to do this princess?" he called out challengingly.

Donna shook her head, "Oooh yes I do." she accepted before throwing her snowball at him. James jumped over to the side before retuning fire, Donna dodged the snowball before retreating into the tree line with James running after her. He chased her through the woods for a few minutes before he threw the ball and pegged Donna in the back of her shoulder. He crouched down to get some more ammunition, however when he stood up he saw that Donna had seemingly vanished.

He quickly took cover behind one of the pine trees, "You know I didn't expect a brave Amazonian warrior like yourself to run and hide!" he called out jokingly, knowing that his girlfriend wouldn't simply run away. As he peeked out from behind the tree, _Ok where are you darlin'?_ he asked himself as he scanned the surrounding area, _Your scent is close by, but it ends where I pegged you….almost like you…._ he thought as realization slowly dawned on him. "You can fly…and I am a moron" he said as he looked directly above him.

Donna was indeed floating in the air above him with her arms crossed over her chest, "Yes." she said simply before slamming the base of her fist against the tree, her inhuman strength shaking the tree and knocking the snow off the branches and causing James to be covered with the white powder. "Give up?" she asked, James simply tossed the ball of snow in his hand aside before proceeding to dust the snow off his shoulders. Donna landed beside him and helped him clean himself up, "Sorry. I didn't plan on pelting you but I saw you come out and there was snow and…I couldn't help myself." she explained sheepishly.

Her boyfriend simply chuckled, "I should have seen it coming, you told me it never snows on Themyscira so I shouldn't be surprised." he said while he stepped out of the pile of snow around him. Donna had told him and the others a little about her home, since it was concealed from the world with magic the island was in a state of perfect weather year round. Her hand combed through his hair, brushing the remining flakes of snow powder from it before cupping his cheek, "You look beautiful." he complimented.

The Amazonian smirked before stepping in close to James and brushing her lips against his, she felt his arms encircle her waist before her body was tugged close to his. Their lips separated from each other before James spoke, "I ever tell you how I found out about my powers?" he asked, the amazon shook her head, "It happened a few years ago when I was what, fifteen?" he asked himself before affirming with a nod, "I got up early went to this little pond by my house, me and Sam would hang out there from time to time after school. But when I sat down on this log I saw this wolf, thing attacked me right away." he explained.

"At the time I didn't know so I kind of freaked out." he admitted, he pulled his hands from her hips and looked down at his knuckles, "Next thing I knew I felt like someone stabbed me between my fingers and the wolf was dead." he told, running his hand over the other like a old wound. He sight of snow always seemed to bring up that memory, the first time his claws popped was one of his most painful experiences thus far.

Donna frowned sadly as he recalled the account to her, she had seen James use his claws countless time and he never so much as flinched when he used them. At first she believed it was that it didn't hurt anymore, however when James explained it actually hurt every time she didn't know how to respond. She saw powers as gifts, but what kind of gift just hurt you every time you used it? However she was drawn away from her thoughts when she noticed the somber look her boyfriend had, "I went home to mom and dad…..Sammy told me we could always get me declawed." he recalled jokingly, not smiling at all.

Donna stood silently knowing nothing she could say could ease the pain James had been experiencing, but it didn't stop her at all from trying to help make him happy when she could. "You'll always have the memory….cherish them. Because those can never be taken from you." she said empathetically, James looked up at her sadly.

 _Yeah….least I know my parents._ He thought shamefully, Donna didn't even know if her parents were alive for that matter. _And here she is listening to me bitch about my family whose in a coma…they're alive, I know them but Donna…._ he thought to himself as Donna gave him a supporting smile. "Your amazing." he said making the amazon giggle at the complement. "I'm serious I shouldn't be complaining to you of all people." he said remorsefully.

Her expression softened, "James what happened to me….it's completely different. And I'm going to tell you right now that it took me a while to live with it." she enlightened, trying to give James some words of encouragement. James smiled at her as she reached her hand out and took his, 'Come on, we should get back to Mount Justice. I want to sneak some snacks before Wally devours them all." she told, leading James back towards their base.

* * *

 **Mount Justice, November 11** **th** **2010, 16:05 p.m.**

"Surprise!" the entire team called out as Wally West entered the lounge, a large banner was spread over their heads saying 'Happy Birthday' and with food spread out in the kitchen and table in between the couches in the lounge. The Flash and Red Tornado were present as well, the Flash not wanting to miss his protégé's party and Red Tornado wanting to observe the custom for future reference.

"What?! Aww you guys, you shouldn't have." Wally said, feigning his ignorance to his friend's surprise.

Robin crossed his arm as he smirked at his friend, "Right, not like you've been hinting for days or anything." he said sarcastically as Wally took his coat off. He walked around the table in front of the two cakes as Donna put a pointed party hat on the top of his head. James lit the candles on both the cakes, one plain vanilla and the other with strawberries on the top between the candles.

"We made two cakes." M'gann said as she leaned down beside Wally as he took his seat on the floor in front of the two cakes.

"Awesome! What will you guys eat?" he asked, knowing full well that he would be able to eat both the cakes and still be a little hungry after he finished eating. He had 'hinted' to the team that if they were to throw a part they should prepare a large abundance of food for him and have their own food that he didn't eat.

M'gann gave him a friendly smile, "We'll split the cupcake." she joked, "Make a wish." she instructed as she gestured to the cakes with her head.

The speedster grinned, "Way ahead of you." he said before inhaling a deep breath before blowing the flames out on the candles in one gust. The speedster's teammates clapped in congratulation as M'gann began to cut the cake, "You know," he said to her, "If I tell you my wish, it wont come true, But if you guess…." he hinted flirtatiously to the Martian.

James rolled his eyes at Wally's poor attempt of flirtation, however Miss Martian seemingly took pity on the speedster and gave him a chaste kiss on his forehead. The feral hero smirked at the slightly disappointed look to the speedster's face. A slice of cake was lifted up to his face by Donna, "Be nice, it's his day after all." she chastised as he took the pale and fork and took a bite of the sweet. The pair looked over Zatanna as Robin presented her with a slice as well, "How do you think she's adjusting?" she asked.

James swallowed his cake before answering her, "I heard her the night she came she came here…..she's doing as well as anyone could do." he said, thinking back to how he heard her muffled sobs. The couple walked over to the magician, "He warn you about Wally's eating habits?" he asked, looking over as wally shoved a piece of cake into his mouth and ate it. Donna let out a sound of disgust, she understood the reason behind his eating habits, doesn't mean she enjoyed watching it.

Zatanna smiled playfully, "Yeah, Rob already warned me." she said as the speedster tried to flirt with M'gann again. The amazon looked over to Conner, the clone didn't show any signs of jealousy though, he knew that Wally's attempts at wooing M'gann was harmless. "How haven't he figured it out yet?" Zatanna asked as Artemis walked over to them.

"Delusion." James, Donna, Artemis, and Robin answered at once. "Think we should tell him?" the archer asked, she was tired of hearing all the cheesy pick up lines from the speedster. Donna and James both nodded in agreement, "Then please, allow me." she said before approaching the speedster while M'gann walked over to Conner with some cake. James and the others watched as Artemis sat down behind him and leaned to the side of his head and whispered something into his ear. He turned his head to M'gann and Conner as she wiped some frosting off the side of his face and then stuck the finger in her mouth with a giggle.

"And that's the face of devastation and disappointment." Donna said sympathetically as Wally's face reflected what she described, she felt James hand slip into hers and squeeze it. Glancing over their eyes met before looking away and feigning ignorance, however they didn't notice Artemis witness the small show of affection and smile.

 _Way to go Donna._ she thought to herself before looking over at Wally, a sinister smile crossed her face. She quickly leaned down and whispered, "And James and Donna are a thing." she added, causing the speedster turn his head and stare at her disbelievingly before looking at James and Wonder Girl and noticed just as they stopped holding each other's hand.

"Ohhhhhh man hat lucky son of a-" he nearly cursed before the PA system came on.

 ** _"_** ** _Attention Team, suit up. Polar stealth, mission briefing in five."_** Batman's voice announced through the headquarters. The team members wordlessly proceeded to stop what they were doing and go to change into their costumes, five minutes later the group met up in the mission room with a large holoscreen of Batman projected in front of the Team in their winter stealth gear.

 ** _"_** ** _A massive ice storm has paralyzed North America from coast to coast. Satellites have detected five flying ice fortresses, source unknown, which seem to be the source and must be stopped."_** the caped crusader explained as a 3D rendering of one of the fortresses appeared in front of them.

"Well can't the Watchtower just blow them out of the sky or something?" the speedster asked, causing Zatanna, Wolverine, and Wonder Girl look at him strangely.

Batman let out a frustrated groan at Kid Flash spilling the secret, **_"The League's orbiting headquarters is not weaponized. And with Both Green Lanterns off world, I need all hands on deck."_** he explained, missing the surprised looks of James.

 _Woah, woah, woah, time the hell out! They have a secret base in goddamn space?_ James thought to himself in disbelief, how could the League keep that a secret? Not just from the general public but from him or the others? Looking over he saw that Zatanna simply shrugged it off, she must have heard stranger and more bizarre things. But Donna on the other hand was in a trance of deep thought.

 ** _"_** ** _Superboy, Wolverine, use the super-cycle to rendezvous with the Bat-Plane at Ice Fortress One. You'll drop off Robin and Aqualad and continue on with Wolf to Black Canary, X-23 and Red Tornado at Ice Fortress Two. Miss Martian, Artemis, Wonder Girl and Zatanna, take the bioship to rendezvous with Green Arrow and Martian Manhunter at Ice Fortress Three. Other Leaguers will deal with Ice Fortresses Four and Five. Sending coordinates now."_** The dark knight explained, giving out assignments to everyone but Kid Flash who took a cautious step forward.

"Um…Batman aren't you forgetting…" he trailed off, not wanting to call out who he considered one of the scariest people he ever met.

 ** _"_** ** _Kid Flash. A young girl in Seattle is in desperate need of a heart transplant. With all conventional air traffic grounded by the storm, you'll need to pick up the donor heart in Boston, and run it three thousand miles across country."_** he explained, Wally's face turning to disappointment once again.

"Who is this girl?!" he asked, not wanting to miss the first time the League and the Team work together.

 ** _"_** ** _Does it matter?"_** The caped crusader asked, his eyes narrowing somewhat.

"No…of course not….but wait, can't we just Zeta-" he started.

"Zeta Tubes are offline due to the storm….sorry." Robin said, feeling bad that his friend would miss the mission. James felt sorry for the speedster, Wally had helped found the team for crying out loud and it didn't seem fair but who else could do it?

As the team split into two groups, Donna fallowed Zatanna and Artemis through the base with a lot on her mind. She and Diana had no secrets between them….or so she thought, she understood the need for secrets of course but she and Diana were sisters, they never hid anything from each other. She even planned to tell her about her and James' relationship next time she and her had some time to speak with one another privately.

The young women loaded up into the back of the Bioship, M'gann taking the pilot's seat while Zatanna, Artemis, and Wonder Girl sat in their seats. As the rear of the ship closed up Sphere unfolded into the super cycle, Superboy climbed into the driver seat while Robin and Wolverine sat in the back carriage and Wolf taking seat near the front wheel. As the Bioship flew out the bay doors, the gate to the front door opened up before the cycle revved to life.

The large bike drove up the ramp and out into the field, going alongside Kid Flash for a bit before the front wheel pulled and the bike took off into the air.

* * *

 **Ice Fortress-2, November 11** **th** **2010, 17:05 p.m.**

After dropping the boy wonder off with his mentor, Superboy piloted the bike to where they were to meet up with the Leaguers. The super cycle landed on the highway to meet up with Red Tornado, Black Canary and Laura, the latter hopping in the back with Wolf and James while Tornado flew up and Dinah hopped in the front compartment, "Hey there stranger." James greeted as Laura took a seat beside him, the clone smirked as the bike drove up into the air. "So, the League got anything like this?" he asked jokingly as his palm gently hit the outside of the super cycle.

Laura rolled her eyes under her mask, "No we don't." she replied dryly as they broke through the clouds, they immediately located the Ice Fortress flying through the air. It's overall design reminded James of what a flying saucer looked like in old black and white films. "Alright here's the plan, Canary and the cycle will provide air support with Red Tornado, the rest of us are on the ground and tearing that thing apart. Any questions?" she asked.

"What about collateral?" Superboy asked, taking the thing down out of the sky was one thing but they didn't want to crash it into a populated city where civilians would be locked in their homes.

"This thing is big but it's slow. Rate it's going we got three hours before it passes over the next highly populated area." Black Canary explained just as the Fortress began to open fire upon them. The bike swivel through the air, dodging the artillery and getting them in close for Canary to use her sonic scream on the outer rim of the fortress as Wolverine, Superboy, Wolf, and X-23 leapt from the bike down onto the fortress.

James and Laura landed on the surface of the fortress and popped their claws as Conner and Wolf both ripped a turret up and threw it into the air where Red Tornado used his powers to fling it into the side of the fortress. Wolverine sliced through the barrel of a gun emplacement, "Ok so what do we do? How do we take this thing down?" he shouted to X-23 as she scaled the side a large AA gun with her claws.

Reaching the top of the gun she sliced into the top of the weapon and disabled it before jumping off back onto the surface, "Well first thing we need to do is take out the turrets so Tornado and Canary can get in close and do more damage." she said before they both heard the sound of mechanical movement. Looking further up the fortress they saw a number of other turrets, AA guns, and other automated weapons come up and aim at the two. "Shit," Laura growled out.

As they opened fire, Superboy landed in front of them and tanked the fire from the turrets, "I'll lead the way, you guys cut what we pass!" the Kryptonian clone said before charging forward with James and Laura fallowing his path, the two sliced through the gun emplacements as Superboy paved the way for them while Wolf took care of any guns they missed.

The group stopped a they reached the base of the fortress's center, it was a tower shaped structure with over them. "Alright if I had to guess, I'd say this big thing in the center is where all the important things like the power source." James said as he slashed his claws into the wall and backed away. Superboy stepped forward and reached into the cuts James had made before pulling the side of the outer wall apart. Behind the wall was a large room with a number of moving parts throughout, along with large collections of wiring connecting across the room.

Wolverine let out a almost dark chuckle, "Oh this is going to be very fun." he said, unsheathing his claws and leaping into the air and slicing through a array of wires while Superboy leapt into the side of a piston looking machine, knocking it out of place the piece of machinery fell out of its proper place and crashed into the floor. The entire interior of the fortress shook from the collision.

Laura plunged her claws onto what appeared to be a large transformer and ripped her claws of form it's side and backed away before the machine exploded. She turned and took in the room, the three of them had managed to do some major damage to the interior of the ship but she could still hear the sound of the artificial snow being poured out.

Laura raised a hand to her ear and pressed onto the communicator, "Tornado we're inside the main housing of the fortress, are is there anything we're doing that can bring this down?" she asked, attacking the inside of this thing was not doing anything productive.

 _'_ _My scanners indicate that directly below you is what I could only describe as the engine to the fortress. However it's outer shell is three feet thick, your claws can get through it, however it will take some time.'_ The android explained to over the comm.

James and Conner looked at one another, "Fastball Special." Conner began, "I jump up the tower and throw you through the floor." he explained to his teammate who nodded.

"Wait-!" Laura began before Superboy grabbed James and leapt up into the air as high as he could. Spinning them both around in midair the Kryptonian clone flung James directly down towards the floor, the feral teen's claws pointed out. Tames went through the steel and through the engine of the fortress clear through to the other side….which was the bottom of the fortress. As Superboy came back down to the floor he ran over to the hole along with Laura, "…I was going to say, we don't know what's below the engine." X-23 finished dryly.

"Oh…..right. Did not think of that." Superboy admitted, "He heals though, he'll be fine." he said as he began to feel the momentum start to affect them, the fortress was going down. The pair moved towards the entrance they made as Superboy radioed Black Canary, "Superboy to Black Canary, me and X-23 need a pick up!" he requested as he and Laura exited the middle of the fortress.

The Super Cycle drove down from the sky and parked in front of them so the two could climb onto the cycle. The machine drove off the side of the fortress and took off into the sky, the fortress falling through the sky into a deserted field without a single building for miles.

Canary turned back and looked at Superboy and Laura, "Where's Wolverine?" she asked. Laura held her hand out over the side of the back and pointed down at the ground without missing a beat.

Meanwhile, Wolverine laid in a crater made by him hitting the ground from the sky with his limbs pointed out in ways which they weren't supposed to. The young man let out a groan of pain, _I think I just broke my record for how many bones I can dislocate at once._ he thought to himself. _Wonder if the others are having as much luck as I am?_

* * *

 **Ice Fortress-3, November 11** **th** **2010, 17:30 p.m.**

Wonder Girl's arms were a blur as she deflected fire from the turrets of the Ice Fortress before the Bioship flew overhead and destroyed the turrets with it's own weaponry. The amazon grabbed her lasso and flew up into the air before flinging it at the barrel of a turret and yanked it over to the side, making it fire into a another before ripping it off it' pillar and using her lariat to fling it into gun emplacement.

She looked down to another gun as it turned to her, before it could fire however a explosive arrow blew the gun apart. Donna turned her head to Artemis and gave the archer a smile of gratitude, _'Good shot. Zatanna, how's the spell coming along?'_ she asked through the mental link to the magician. As soon as they had met up with Green Arrow and Martian Manhunter they devised a plan to take down the fortress.

They were to clog up the ports where the snow and ice were emitting from and then Zatanna would use her magic to cause an explosion inside. The theory was that if they stopped the flow of what it produced then it would case the interior to overheat, Zatanna could cause a chain reaction from the heat and use it to destroy the fortress.

 _'_ _Busy. Need Concentrate. Warn before it blows.'_ Zatanna answered quickly, focusing all her energy into making sure the spell worked properly.

Donna decided to get back to work, she, Artemis, and Green Arrow were to keep the fire on them while Miss Martian and her uncle destroyed the exhausts. They were a total of six ports and they had destroyed two of them thus far and were working on another pair right now. Donna flew over the side of the ship, garnering the attention of the turrets encamped on the underside of the fortress, "Hey look at me! I'm a distraction!" she called out as the automated weaponry opened fire on her.

Donna blocked the shots from the gun emplacements with ease as a cloaked Miss Martian flew behind her towards another vent that poured out the fake snow. Using her telekinesis she pushed the substance back up into it's port, the pressure gathered inside the small space until the vent blew up!

 _'_ _Ok got it! Everyone to the ship!'_ Zatanna announced, Donna flew out from beneath the ship as Martian Manhunter collected the archers and flew them to the bioship. Zatanna lifted her hands up over her head before crossing them in front of her to make a X shape, **"Erif nrub, nordlauc elbbub!"** he commanded, the entire ship began to rumble before of series of explosions rippled across the deck, the fortress smoking as it descended through the air.

Donna looked back through the air as it fell with a triumphant and proud smile, she turned on her communicator and spoke, "Wonder Girl to Superboy. We've disabled fortress three. How are you guys doing?" she asked as she flew to the bioship as the floor to the cockpit opened up. Flying up thought he hole, she touched down on the floor before she got a reply.

 _"_ _This is Superboy, fortress two is down. We're heading back to the cave now.'_ he responded back.

"We're going to meet up with the others at the next ice fortress. Good work out there ladies." Green Arrow complimented as Martian Manhunter used his powers to lift him up before M'gann opened the floor for them. J'onn flew him and Oliver out though he exit and turned towards the next Ice Fortress location as the Bioship flew back in the direction of Mount Justice.

Donna took her seat in front of Artemis as she took off the parka part of her Artic Stealth costume, the archer looked at the back of the Amazon's head with a small smirk. "So Donna, I've been wondering something. Do you mind if I ask you something?" she questioned the amazon coyly.

Donna turned her head back and simply shrugged, "Of course."

"Well….M'gann could you give us a private connection?" she asked, the Martian nodded before her eyes glowed green for a second to give them a private link between their minds to speak through. _'Ok when were you going to tell us about you and James?'_ She asked directly, Donna's eyes widened.

 _'_ _How did you-'_ The amazon began before sighing, _'Doesn't matter….honestly we didn't plan on telling anyone. If you guys found out we weren't going to deny it….just don't tell Diana….I was going to tell her next time I see her.'_ she explained and pleaded.

Artemis raised an eye at that, she and Green Arrow weren't exactly the closest of partners but they had been getting along very well as of late. She knew that Donna adored Diana and trusted her almost to a fault, and as someone who had learned to keep secrets from others she could tell when Donna was doing the same, _'Some reason why you aren't keen on Wonder Woman knowing?'_ she asked.

Donna didn't answer for a moment, _'It's the Watchtower. I know it's a secret for a reason but I still feel stung by it….Diana used to tell me everything about her travels to man's world…or I thought so at least.'_ she explained. _'I know that our mentors keep things from us….I just….what else could she be keeping from me you know?'_ she asked.

 _'_ _Look Donna everyone has secrets, big and small. It's natural. I mean you didn't tell us about you and James and that's harmless. If Diana knew something important she would tell you.'_ the archer reassured. Wonder Woman wasn't like Batman, she didn't have hundreds of secrets, in fact she was possibly the complete opposite of him. Donna smiled at that, _'But back on subject, you and James…how long?'_ she asked.

The amazon sighed, accepting she wasn't going to deter her friend, _'Since the training mission. After you and Kaldur…well, got eliminated…I thought of all of you. I thought of how….you all cared for me and how I cared for you….but when I thought of James…well I went to go talk to him but when I saw him I just kissed him.'_ she confessed bashfully.

Artemis had to stop herself from beaming at that, _'Donna that is so sweet…so it's serious?'_ she asked.

Donna nodded, _'Yeah it is….I love him.'_

Artemis's foot hit the back of her seat excitedly, _'Seriously! Donna I'm really happy for you…..but wait how do you two make time for it? M'gann and Conner live there with you guys, I mean I saw you guys holding hands but still…..have you guys-'_ Donna's mind suddenly flashed to earlier this morning. the feeling of James pressing against her and waking to the feeling of his warmth on her. _'-okthatanswersthat!'_ Artemis spoke across the mental link as her face became red along with Donna's when she realized she just showed the archer that image. _'Ok….ok…first off…..wow. I mean I've seen him with his cloths basically torn to shreds before but I didn't know how fricking solid he was.'_

 _'_ _His skeleton is completely metal so I'm like eighty percent sure that has something to do with it.'_ Donna said dryly.

 _'_ _And second. You guys….the tension between you two is so thick, it's like a wall.'_ the archer said as she recovered from the sudden flash of images from Donna's mind.

 _'_ _I'd take care of it but like you said, we live with four other people! One of which has super hearing that could probably hear us.'_ she explained with frustration.

Artemis grimaced at that thought, plus Red Tornado being there as much as he could be must also put a damper on the romance. Artemis glanced over at Zatanna before smirking, _'Donna I think I might have an idea.'_ she said in her mind before turning her head over to Zatanna. "Hey Zatanna, do you know any spells that can make a room soundproof?" she asked, the Amazon's eyes widening at what the archer was suggesting.

The magician was thrown for a second before responding, "Um, yeah. I used to use it to hide whatever noise I made when I stayed up and snuck out of the house." she said as she smiled, "Why?" she asked.

Artemis gestured to Donna, "Donna was telling me that she can hear James snore whenever she opens her door at night. She wanted to know if there was a way she could politely ask him to stop but I was thinking…" she trailed off, letting Zatanna put the pieces together.

"Oh! Yeah, sure. I can whip something up when we get to the cave…..what does he sound like snoring?" she asked curiously.

"A bear." Donna quickly responded with a smirk, "Like a big bear. Like….ok did you ever see Jerimiah Johnson? Like that, like those bears….only worse." she lied jokingly. In truth James actually did snore on occasion but it was either so soft it didn't bother her or so short it wasn't worth noting.

The magician snickered, "I had the suspicion….I also heard a rumor that he lived in the middle of the woods or something before joining the team?"

M'gann held back a laugh, "No, see when the Team first formed we all camped outside the cave but James just went off into the woods without a sleeping bag, pillow, not even a tent." she explained, making the other three give her an look of disbelief. "Came in the next morning saying that was the most comfortable sleep he had in a while. I think if he could he would have his own cabin in the middle of the woods and just live there." she added.

"I'll take the city any day of the week." Artemis said, Zatanna nodded in agreement. They both had grown up in cities, Artemis in Gotham and Zatanna in New York so the choice was simple for them.

M'gann smiled, "I wouldn't mind the deserts, they remind me of Mars." the Martian said, thinking of some pictures she came across on the internet of some pictures out west and some stone houses that were reminiscent of the ones on Mars.

Donna paused before speaking, "I think I'd like somewhere by the water. On the cliffside where I can listen to waves crashing against the rocks." she said, the picture of her idea home bringing a soft smile to her face. As much as she missed Themyscira at times she enjoyed the idea of having her own home aside from her room at the cave.

Within the hour the team arrived back in the cave, the ship parking in the hanger on top of the platform. As the team of four exited the ship they found Sphere and Superboy waiting for them. "Hey Conner, you guys take down your ice fortress?" Zatanna asked as they disembarked the ship.

"Yeah…well technically James did." the clone vaguely explained, causing Donna to raise an inquisitive eye. She knew James was capable but him destroying a entire fortress? She found that hard to believe, Superboy caught their confused expression and explained, "Well we thought if I threw him through the engine to the ship….and then through the ship…and he fell…he was better by the time we got back but he's kind of…"

"Pissed?" Donna provided, the clone nodded.

"His exact words? 'No one bother me until after I shower, get changed, and sleep for a few hours or I'll stick a claw up where the sun doesn't shine.'" he explained dryly as Sphere made a chirping noise before rolling off.

Donna couldn't help but smile to herself, if she was being honest she would probably be in a similar mood.

* * *

James sighed in content as the hot water from the shower doused him from head to toe, the water soothing his still aching body. His bones had refitted themselves into place on the flight back to the cave but his entire body felt like a welt before hopping into the showers. Thankfully his healing factor had finished repairing the remaining damage done to his body, much to the young man's relief.

But in the end they had completed their mission and that was all that mattered, Red Tornado had radioed them when they got back informed them that he would be busy with the clean up and investigation into where the Ice Fortresses came from in the first place. _If you had told me a few years ago that I'd be thrown through a flying fortress that was making a snow day for the entire United States, I would have been skeptical._ he thought dryly to himself as he grabbed the soap off the floor.

"Ok reminder, talk to Batman and Red Tornado about changing the showers." he said as he lathered himself in suds. He didn't hate the showers here but the problem was that they were incredibly basic like the ones in school locker rooms. They also had no privacy either, not that James shirked when it came to nudity. He had actually been mostly naked during his time in the wilds of Canada, besides he was sure the other guys on the team might not be as comfortable.

Hell he still doesn't know what Robin looks like without something covering part of his face.

James pushed those thoughts aside however, he was determined to shut his brain off for the rest of the evening and just relax, maybe cuddle up with Donna in his room and watch a movie on his laptop. However as his thoughts were preoccupied he barely picked up the sound of someone breaking before a soft voice spoke into his ear. "Hello James."

The feral hero stiffened at the familiar voice, "D-Donna?!" he whispered out, barely stopping himself from shouting out her name. "I-you-what?" he tried to properly ask, frozen in place from his girlfriend's sudden appearance and intrusion.

"Five minutes. My room." Donna responded swiftly before she flew back out of the showers, James turning his head back with a disbelieving look on his face.

 _Did…did that just happen? Because if not I am seriously going to hurt someone._ He thought before putting more effort into cleaning himself off as fast as he could as he tried to get his mind straight, when he managed to his first question was what the hell just happened. _Did she just….ok don't jump to conclusions, maybe she's excited to see me? Heard I got a little messed up and….ok that's denial if I ever heard it._ the hero thought as he turned off the shower and made his way to the locker room where he set out his nightwear beforehand.

Drying himself off he proceeded to change into a pair of sweats and a plain grey tee shirt before walking out of the showers and in the direction of their rooms, Minutes later he approached the door to her room and made sure the coast was clear before knocking his knuckles against the metal, the door opened and he quickly entered before anyone could see.

James took in the room as the door slid shut behind him, strangely enough James hadn't set a foot in anyone else room but his own. Whereas he didn't have much personality to his room, Donna's was the complete opposite in that sense. Her walls were covered in photographs of various subjects, one was of a girl holding a pup up to her face with a large smile, another was a landscape of a beach with a few sailboats out on the water. Her walls weren't the only accessory, a bookshelf containing various scrolls, books, and other reading material stacked the wall beside her closet.

James heard her bare feet stride over the floor from the side of the doorway to behind him before he turned to speak to her, Donna had stripped from her costume and into the clothes that she was wearing this morning. James noticed the almost predatory look in the amazon's eyes along with the smirk of triumph she gave him, he managed to finally locate his voice again, "So…you wanted to see me…I think, you didn't really explain." he babbled.

The amazon walked forward, adding a saw to her hips as she approached, "Well I lied to Zatanna and told her that your snoring keeps me up at night, so I asked her to soundproof my room with magic." she explained as she stopped right in front of him, their faces inches apart. James felt his throat dry at the new information, Donna closed the distance between them and pressed her lips into his. Her tongue slipped into his mouth as she pressed her weight onto him, Donna's hands cupped the sides of his face to pull him deeper into the kiss.

James put up no resistance as his arms encircled around her waist and pulled Donna close, their tongues briefly touched sending a shock through both of them. Their lips parted, allowing the couple to gaze into each other's eyes for a moment before James's hands cupped her rear cheeks and uplifted her off the ground with his strength, taking the amazon by surprise momentarily before his he kneaded the firm flesh in his fingers and made Donna release a gasp, her lips curled into a smirk as she recaptured her breath.

"Not so nervous this time?" she chided him before kissing him again, James stepping backwards as Donna used her power of flight to urge him until he back of his knees touched the bed making him fall back onto the mattress with Donna on top of him and her knees on either side of his waist. James could hear both their heartbeats sped up as their foreplay continued, James felt her hands leave his face and reach down to the rim of his shirt. Pulling the shirt up his body they parted so the collar could slip over his head and then tossed aside.

James looked to Donna as she discarded his shirt, "Your sure?" he asked her, making the couple pause in their places. He was barely keeping himself under control, a voice in the back of his head was telling him to throw all caution to the wind and just mate already. But he HAD to be sure this is what Donna wanted, however these doubts and worries were soon dashed when Donna leaned down and pressed her lips to his forehead lovingly.

"Yes. I am." she replied as she leaned over him and locked their lips once again. The young man's hands slid off Donna's ass and caught the underside of her shirt, slowly he inched the cloth up her back. The amazon pulled the young man up into a sitting position before reaching her hands down between them to her shirt and helped him pull it up, in one swift motion her shirt was off past her head and flung off the bed without a care.

James locked eyes with her's, they broke contact for a second as her cheeks grew flush. His gaze wandered down past her collar to her full breasts, his head leaned forward and captured her mouth with his own. She stiffened at his sudden kiss briefly before he pulled away and smiled at her. "You're a goddess." he praised, making the amazon blush at his description. "Your also adorable when you blush." he added, making Donna let out a guffaw.

His hand glided across her skin from around her back before cupping her breast, making Donna release a low moan of pleasure at the sensation of his touch, his lips connected with her's again as his other hand kneaded the other mound of soft flesh, "Mmmmhhhh." she moaned into him as his finger brushed against her cherry colored peaks. She pulled away, "James I-ngh-" she cut off as his hands slid up to her chest and pressed into her as he gently squeezed, making her lean back before speaking again, "-I need you. Badly." she said before shoving him back down onto the mattress and stepping back from the bed.

Her thumbs slid over the sides of her shorts and bent forward to pull the last remaining article of clothing off. James mirrored her actions and worked the sweat pants down to his legs before kicking them off and returning his focus to Donna's full form. The amazon watched his eye roam her body, and from what she could read from his, he liked what he saw as much as she did him. His body looked like it was carved out of granite with not single blemish upon him.

James saw perfection incarnate, her curvaceous hips, her perfectly sculpted breasts, her toned muscle that kept her feminine beauty and showed the fruits of her training. He took notice of the small amount of black locks above her lower lips, he minded not in the slightest however, in fact the sight had a arousing effect on him. She could barely react as her beloved stood from the bed and lifted her up once again and capture her lips with his, drawing away she breathed out over his mouth when she felt the head of cock brush against her entrance.

"Sit down." it wasn't a command but James obliged as though it was, carrying her in his arms he sat down on floor. Donna tired not to laugh, "I meant the bed." she explained before giving him a quick peck on the head as James lifted them both up off the ground. As soon as he was up on his feet Donna wrapped her arms around his neck and used her power of flight to lift them over onto the bed with James beneath her.

The young man locked eyes with Donna, her hand reached down an grasped his shaft which made James shiver at her touch. "W-wait I need to get-" he began before Donna reached her other hand down and placed a finger against his lips.

"I'm safe." she reassured, Donna lifted herself up with her knees and aligning him at her core before lowering herself onto him slowly. His head pushed into Donna's folds, making the Amazon softly moan as he entered her. James felt her walls ensnare his length before dropping herself fully onto him, making the amazon give out a loud moan of pleasure. James's head craned back into the bed as the feeling of her engulfing his cock, his hands grabbed her hips and slowly rocked her back and forth.

Donna's head titled back as she released a moan that echoed through the room, her hands steadied her by grabbing his on her hips. Every movement felt like a wave of pleasure washing over Donna, her moans rose in volume with each push into her and made James crave the sound all the more.

The view of Donna moving on top him made him only desire her even more, the bounce of her breast called him to thrust into her as she lowered, her scream showed only raw pleasure as he pushed deep into her core. The amazon looked down at her new lover as beads of sweat began to form on her brow, her hands fastened his against her hips, "Fuck me."

His fingers dug into her flesh and slammed his shaft into her depths, her wetness covered his shaft as it pulled out of her before shooting back in and making Donna moan aloud in pleasure with each thrust. Her tightness gripped his shaft with a death grip, milking it for all it was worth as it he drove into her. His hands slid up her sides before he sat up while he thrust into her, his lips brushed against hers whilst she dropped onto him, "S-so tight…" he breathed out.

Donna's hands wrapped around his neck to get a better hold, "Faster!" she rallied, the look in his eyes seemed to change, his hands slid over her hips to her back cheeks and held her in place while he rammed into her with wild abandon. "Ah! James!" she shouted as she leaned back, her entire body moving with each slam into her. James felt her tightness nearly choke him but he continued his thrusts, even as he felt her walls spasm and her body tense.

She pulled him close and reached her hand down his back, her nails raking across his flesh as she was drowned in pleasure and let out the loudest moan she could muster. The rush of her orgasm made James hasten his own efforts to reach climax, he soon reached the same level of bliss as Donna as he released inside the amazon, his seed shooting inside her and causing Donna to coo from the feeling of his liquid warmth filling her.

He slid out of her, their mixed fluid leaking out from her lips before they fell back onto the bed, the two lovers both trying to recapture their breath. Donna's head rest against his chest as it rose up with his inhalation of breath and then sunk as he let it out, she raised herself up by her forearms before looking into James eyes. His hand raised up to her cheek before they both let out a short laugh, "That was…." he struggled to find the right word.

"Overdue?" Donna provided, making them both chuckle once again. Her finger traced down his chest playfully as her nails teased his skin. "Sorry for scratching you." she apologized, she didn't keep her nails long like some women did but they apparently were still long enough to leave a mark.

"Donna I have a healing factor. Scratch me all you want." he replied casually causing the amazon to roll her eyes. "What about you? Your not hurt to bad are you?" he asked, knowing that the first time could be somewhat painful for the girl.

However she shook her head, "Fine, just a tad sore." she explained, putting his worries at ease. His fingers brushed through her black locks, soothing the young woman as she laid her head down on his chest.

"I like your room by the way." James said, looking over to the pictures on the wall, "When did you get the collage?" he asked, Donna fallowed his gaze to the wall with photographs. He thought back to when he and the others took Donna out to the mall to get her clothes, furnishings, and other little items for her room the day after she arrived.

The warrior princess smiled, "Diana took me out a few weeks ago to get a few things. I saw them in a shop window in New York and she bought them for me…..I can't draw like a artist, but when I saw you could literally capture a image with a device I immediately became enamored with it." she replied. Themyscira was a perpetual paradise without a doubt but it lacked the modern devices that the rest of the world did, the camera was one of her favorites.

She felt James's fingers dance up her spine, making her let out a sigh, "So….was it good for you?" James asked. Donna in response lifted herself up, exposing herself to James and smirking at him. "….take that as a yes." he added as she laid down beside him on her side with her arm outstretched in a welcoming manner. He moved forward into her and wrapped his arm around her waist before pulling her onto of him, he inhaled through his nose, his sense of smell picking up their musk of lovemaking.

"We're going to need a shower tomorrow." he said, leaning his head back against Donna's pillow as the Amazon lifted he head up to look at him mirthfully.

"Well you better get up early. I get in the shower first of the day. It'll be faster with you with me." she said, making the berserker smile back at her.

"God I love you." James replied simply as Donna rested her head back against his chest as she tried to fall asleep. James listened to her heartbeat as he let himself be taken by sleep.

* * *

 **Mount Justice, November 12** **th** **2010, 06:27 a.m.**

Donna and James's shared shower was quickly killed when M'gann knocked on the door early in the morning. Donna on instinct shoved James into the closet along with his clothes before dressing herself in her clothes from last night and answering the door. The Martian told her that she needed help cleaning up from the party yesterday, since she attended Donna felt obligated to help clean up as well.

A few minutes later, James snuck out of her room in his clothes from yesterday and quickly dashed into his room where he got ready for today after adding a disgusting amount of deodorant to try and make himself not smell like sex. Walking to the mission room the young man's eyes were almost burning, _AXE sucks._ he thought simply as he entered the mission room. He froze when he saw Laura, Batman, and Wonder Woman awaiting him. _…..ok honestly if I die? Totally worth it. No regrets._ he thought o himself before greeting the heroes.

"Morning Laura." he greeted first before nodding at the amazon and dark knight, "Batman, Wonder Woman." he greeted respectfully.

"We have news about Shingen." Batman said bluntly, causing the young man's mood to shift completely, his eyes became mixed with that of his berserker side. "Tokyo authorities discovered his body two days ago, Shingen was decapitated by a single blade with his stomach cut horizontally from side to side." he explained.

James's eyes widened, he would have been surprised if Shingen had killed himself since it was considered dishonorable to commit suicide. "Wait….that sounds kind of familiar.." he said, he could have sword he heard of someone dying like that before.

"It's called Seppuku, ritual suicide when a comrade decapitates the defeated soldier to help them keep their honor." Wonder Woman explained, "We looked at the security footage but it was all disabled and the guard outside his cell was knocked out." she explained to the young man.

'But….who would kill him? Better yet who could get past that security without being-" he stopped when he realized what they're implying. "…he hasn't been seen in years." he said bluntly.

"True. But Shingen went after you and your family. Logan wasn't one for turning the other cheek." Diana explained, making the teen bow his head. "We wanted you to know in case-"

"Don't bother." James said as he tuned around and made his way towards the lounge, "If he wanted anything to do with me he wouldn't have left." he said simply, Laura frowned sadly at his comment as he walked off.

The clone was silent for a minute, "Told you he would be mad." she said simply to Diana.

The amazon looked in the direction James had walked off with a saddened expression, "I was under the impression James admired his father…." she explained, Logan for what faults he had was still a good man. She had known him since she first came to man's world, he was a cynical man at first but she soon saw he was ore than that.

"Regardless, Logan might try to make contact with James….he needed to know." Batman said, ending the conversation there as he brought up photos of the crime scne on the holo screens.

James meanwhile walked past a wall with a violent claw mark in it that was freshly made.

If Logan was around, James knew _exactly_ how he would greet him.

* * *

 **AN: And there! By god that was a long bastard! Phew, anyway just to say again support net neutrality, blah blah blah. Anyway I want to tell you guys that I'm going to start working on the story for the second year of the team, there's not much to go on but I can kind of put a picture together from what I got.**

 **Some inspiration I might take from is Wolverine Weapon X, a few oneshots from the 2004 Wolverine series, and maybe from ANAD Old Man Logan and Wolverine.**

 **I'll also take some stuff from Who Is Donna Troy, Titans Rebirth, and some other stuff for the fallowing stories.**

 **I've also been trying to get a picture of what James looks like but if you want a reference look at X-Campus's version of Wolverine. it's not exactly what James looks like but it's close.**


	20. Chapter 20 (Image)

**Image**

* * *

 **Mount Justice, November 22nd 2010, 09:35 a.m.**

"Alright now make sure you holding the handle tight enough so it doesn't slack." Donna instructed James, the berserker adjusting his grip on the wooden practice sword so that it fallowed the amazon's instruction. He had asked Donna to help train him in swordsmanship, ever since his fight with Shingen he had a desire to sharpen his skills outside of hand to hand. Shingen had no powers whatsoever and he still gave James a good run for his money, though to be fair he did have a legion of warriors fight James when things looked out of his favor.

But he could be better, and after Laura told him how Donna had singlehandedly defeated Kimura he thought no one would be a better teacher.

Since Batman, Red Tornado, and Martian Manhunter had commandeered the Mission Room today the couple instead went to the hanger for their training. They were on the platform below the landing pad where the Bioship was parked, Donna held a wooden practice sword as well a few feet away from James. They each raised their weapons at one another before the amazon charged forward and swing the wood.

James raised his sword and blocked the attack, he counted with a attack aimed at her waist but she held the blade of the practice sword vertically to blind the strike and parry it away and then jabbed it towards his chest. He swung the side of his sword up and knocked the wooden blade away and moved forward, putting his faces inches from Donna. He smirked at her, "How am I doing?" he asked.

"Better." she pushed him away before slashing at his legs, James leapt over the attack and swung a overhead attack towards the top of the amazon's head. Donna raised her weapon to block but the force behind his strike made her arms lower and his blade barely touch her shoulder. He quickly slashed to the right, bringing the wood just to the side of her neck. Donna looked up and smiled at him, "Much better, keep this up and you'll be a samurai in no time." she said as James withdrew his sword and offered her a hand which she gladly took. "But I was going easy on you." she added as he helped her up.

"What? Oh come on princess, I won this one! First one out of six times we've sparred. Let me have this." he jokingly argued, making the amazon chuckle as she shook her head at his playful nature. He wasn't a sore loser when it came to sparring but he would sometimes grow frustrated if he hit a roadblock, however he saw the fault with himself and not with others. So the other six spars were on his end, not Donna's.

The amazon let out a hum of contemplation, "Fine. But this time? How about we make it interesting?" she suggested, a glint of mischief in her eyes. James looked at her with interest, she stepped forward towards James and leaned in towards his ear to whisper, "Whoever wins has to be the other's slave for a week."

James took a moment to weigh his options as Donna pulled away with a smirk, "Few questions. One, when you say slave, we don't mean on missions right?" he asked, Donna shook her head from side to side. "Ok just checking. Two, do we mean anything? Like if you tell me to go jump off a cliff you expect me to do it?" he asked,

The amazon chuckled, "I wouldn't ask something that extreme. But yes, anything." she answered, making the young make take pause to think. He won only one match out of six, and with something like that on the line his cockiness was starting to show.

'I'm…..going to have to pass on that one Donna." he decided, not wanting to take the risk.

Donna smirked before the speakers came on, _' Robin, Wolverine, Wonder Girl, Miss. Martian, Kid Flash, Superboy, report for mission briefing.'_ Batman's voice said over the speakers, making the pair look at one another.

Donna shrugged as she tossed her training weapon to the foot of the pillar, "Oh well, duty calls." she said as James tossed his sword over by her's before she wrapped an arm around him and flew up with him into the air and into the elevator leading to the mission room. Minutes later the couple stood alongside the others. Zatanna and Artemis were in Gotham getting her set up at the school there, and Aqualad was with his mentor on another mission.

As the Team stood in a line James wondered something, _Wait if Kaldur isn't here, then whose the leader?_ he wondered. Kaldur had been unanimously voted to be the leader of the team after their first official mission together and had partaken in every mission since then. So they never set up any sort of chain of command, he knew that Robin wanted the job at first but after their failed simulation mission the boy wonder hadn't shown any sort of interest in the position.

"Rumaan Harjavti is the democratically elected president of Qurac. Harjavti has been praised as a fair, wise leader. A humanitarian." he explained as a video of the president appeared along with a video of him shaking hands with someone James didn't know. The President had a darker skin completion, his frame was somewhat heavy with a beard and his hair fading away on the forehead but growing back into a ponytail. "But five days ago, Harjavti allied himself with the dictator of the neighboring nation of Bialya, Queen Bee." he continued.

Conner let out a short grunt, "Not a fan." he said, recalling to their last mission in the region where he was captured.

"Few are. But Harjavti suddenly backs Queen Bee's baseless claim that Qurac and Bialya were one nation in ancient times. And has announced the countries will re-unify in a ceremony in Qurac." the dark Knight revealed as another video came up on the holo screen showing the president announcing the upcoming ceremony. Then a video of Queen Bee 'gracefully' accepting his invitation to the ceremony.

"His people can't be ok with this." Donna said.

"They're not. They're well aware of the brutality of Queen Bee's regime, but Harjavti has censored the press, silenced all legitimate protest and invited the Bialyan military into his country to enforce martial law." Batman explained as more images flashed across the screen beside him as he spoke.

"Queen Bee has to be controlling him. Doesn't she have the power to enslave most men?" the boy wonder asked.

"And some women." Batman added, "But only at short range and we have confirmation she hasn't left Bialya. Something else is at work here. Find out what." he said before turning his attention to the acrobat. "Robin, you'll be team leader. With Aqualad on mission with Aquaman you're the most obvious candidate." he said.

"Well, actually….me and Kaldur discussed it and in case he couldn't lead, we nominated James to take over as leader." Robin explain, making everyone, including James to turn his head and is eyes widen. Since when the hell did he agree to that!? Batman simply nodded before walking towards the Zeta Tube and teleporting away. As the others eft to board the bioship, Robina and James stayed behind with the later glaring at the former. "…allow me to explain."

James folded his arms across his chest, "I'm going to count down from fifteen. If you don't give me a answer by zero? I'm going to hit you." he stated bluntly as he began counting down in his head.

Robin raised his hands up in a submissive manner, "Look I just….I can't lead the team….I don't…..I don't want to." he explained, his head looking down to the floor. "Last mission I led? I got everyone killed."

The berserker's expression softened at the mention of the training mission, "Robin, you can't blame yourself for that. It was designed to fail, it was a goddamn Koabayashi Maru! You're not Captain Kirk." he explained to the youngest member of the team, none of them blamed him for what happened during the mission because he wasn't at fault. "Besides, you've known everyone longer than I have. You've known Kaldur and Wally longer than I've known any of you, hell you've known Superboy longer than I have and I'm pretty sure he's my best friend." he added to nail the point home.

Robin however didn't seem satisfied with James's reasoning, and it was at this point James reminded himself something. _He's thirteen years old…he shouldn't be worrying about shit like this to begin with._ he thought with a sigh, "Alright. But after this? You, me, and Kaldur are going to have a long hard talk about inclusion in discussions." he conceded. Robin breathed a sigh of relief as James walked past him towards the elevator to the hanger, slugging him in the shoulder as he walked past, "Fifteen seconds are up by the way."

* * *

 **Low Orbit above Quarc, November 23rd 2010, 24:45 p.m.**

The Bioship dove down towards the Earth, it was nearly midnight at the time of infiltration to the nation of Quarc which worked perfectly for the team of young heroes. James thought it would be safer to enter the country away from the capital for risk of airborne detection, "At this rate we should reach the capital soon, we get in, find out what the hell is going on, and get out. Sound good?" he asked, the others nodded in understanding.

Kid Flash looked out the window to the darkened scenery below, "We're right above the Quarci-Bialyaian boarder….one that the Bialayians are ignoring." he added, watching as a duo of tanks rolled over a barbwire fence with soldiers in tow. The roar of the war machines caused a heard of wildebeests to stampede.

"No opposition." Superboy said, noticing the complete lack of troops to defend the border, "Guess Harjavti really is in bed with Queen Bee." he said, looking back at Robin and Wolverine, the pair both looked unconvinced at the idea.

"Well they wouldn't expect any here. Place is a animal sanctuary." he said, looking down at the holographic screen over his gauntlet with a map of the area as well as the outline for the privately owned land.

The mention of the animal sanctuary made Miss. Martian pert up, "The Logan Animal sanctuary?" she asked in a worried tone. Wolverine looked out the window, if this property belonged to someone, then that could mean those tanks could be o a direct course for the owner of the land.

"Guys, tanks have caused a stampede." Kid Flash said, his tech goggles turning to night vision mode and zooming in on the ground below. Superboy came to his side and looked out the window as well, "We got two civilians in the way."

"One boy and a grown woman." Superboy added.

"We have to save them!" Miss Martian exclaimed, James looked out to the ground and saw the civilians. Like Superboy said it was a boy and a woman, they were both tending to a wounded animal right in the path of the stampede. They couldn't just leave them, but they were supposed to get in and out without incident.

"Wonder Girl, Miss. Martian, you to get the kid and woman to safety. Kid Flash, Robin, your with me. Superboy, destroy the treads of the tanks and then fall back. Me, Robin, and Kid Flash will take care of the soldiers, discreetly." he planned out, the most important thing to do was getting the innocents to safety and then taking care of the soldiers. As the team turned their suits into stealth mode, the Bioship cloaked and flew close to the ground.

James, Robin, Superboy, and Kid Flash dropped out of the ship onto the ground while Ms. Martin and Wonder Girl flew ahead towards the civilians with M'gann cloaked. The amazon landed in front of the two, the boy and the woman looking up at her with surprise as she smiled at them, "It's ok, we're here to help." she said as the small oryx they were helping lifted up into the air much to the two's amazement. Wonder Girl reached her hands out out two them, the woman grabbed her hand along with the boy, she flew into the air and carried the two out of the way of the stampede and the tanks' line of sight.

Meanwhile Superboy ran alongside the tank and gripped a section of the treads and ripped it off, causing the machine to slow to a stop before moving onto the other one and doing the same. The clone leapt away as the occupants of the vehicles exited the machines to inspect their transports, about a dozen men exited the tanks as the other teens watched them. _'We knock them out and Ms. Martian will mind wipe them o what happened.'_ he explained through the mental link.

Wolverine rushed forward to a group of the soldiers one of them spotted him rushing at them, as he raised his weapon the hero closed the distance and grabbed the assault rifle's barrel with one hand and grabbed the soldier's face with his other and slammed it into the side of the tank. Pulling the gun free he threw it into another's head before lunging at the third and headbutting him and rolling forward just in front of another, his claws slashed through the new target's weapon before striking him with his other fist.

The berserker turned around to the remaining two, only for Robin to slam one into the tank with a jump kick to head before rebounding off him spin kicking the other one. The feral hero heard Kid Flash pinball between the other six, easily taking the group down before joining James and Robin as they walked over to the kid and woman that Donna and M'gann had saved.

The boy looked between them and the shocked woman, "Mom, mom, mom! We were just saved by Robin! And Kid Flash and Wolverine!" he said excitedly as he saw the heroes.

"Well Ms. Martian, Wonder Girl, and Superboy helped too." The speedster added as Donna descended through the air onto the ground along with M'gann, still cloaked, while she used her telekinesis to lower the Oryx she saved in front of them. As the son ran over and embraced the animal.

Wolverine stepped in front of the group and spoke, "Ms. Martian will erase their memories of what happened and place them on the other side of your property. She can fabricate a story for them and they should leave you alone." James explained as the oryx pressed it's head up against his hand and tentatively licked it. He looked over to where Ms. Martian was still invisible, "Ms. M, you can uncloak now." he said to the nervous Martian.

M'gann pulled her hood back and became visible one again, making the boy's eyes widen as the mother crossed her arms, "You may have made thigs worse. Border crossings are a way of life here, they would have wrecked a few fences and moved on. But you may have made us a target." she criticized with slight disapproval.

"Mooom. Uncool" the boy groaned out at his mother .

"I know, but we couldn't stand by while they endangered your lives. I'm sorry." he apologized.

The woman sighed, "Couldn't be helped, thank you for saving us." She reaches over to her son and clasped his shoulder, "This is my son, Garfield. And I'm-" be began before M'gann interrupted her.

"Marie Logan! Hi, I honestly can't believe I'm meeting you!", M'gann introduced excitedly, causing her friends to give her a strange look. It was one thing to know about this being an animal sanctuary but knowing that she knew the owner as well? That just seemed odd, even for Megan of all people.

The sound of the oryx sneezing made James look down at his now mucus covered hand with disgust, "The oryx is sick, we need to get him back to my clinic." the vet said as she kneeled down to inspect the animal while James wiped the substance on the ground.

M'gann perked up at that, "Oh! Well I can help you with the fence while the others do that." she suggested. James however crossed his arms over his chest, before he could object however she clasped her hands together in a begging manner. "Please?" she asked as Garfield asked the same of his mother.

He finally crumbled to her request, "Fine." both he and Marie said, causing both Garfield and M'gann to cheer. "But before you do anything, wipe their minds and take them to the nearest Biyalian outpost. Then you help her with the fence and meet up with us." he ordered, the Martian nodding at each and every word. As she flew off to transport the soldiers, Garfield took James by his hand and pulled him towards his and his mother's home.

"Come on I'll show you the clinic! Well get Oryx his medicine and I can show you around." he said excitedly as he led the other heroes towards his home. James looked back off towards Ms. Martian as she began to wipe the memories of the soldiers of the last ten minutes or so, he would ask her about her knowledge of the Logans. "So are you THE Wolverine?" Garfield asked, getting James's attention.

'What? No. I'm not." he answered, his appearances in public was limited to a handful of times so it was unlikely that the world in general was aware that he had taken his father's mantel. Of course the entire town he saved from the Wendigo knew about him of course, but it was as James put it, in the ass end of nowhere.

"So do you have claws?" Garfield asked.

"Yes." James answered curtly.

"Do you need to sharpen them? I mean that's why cats destroy furniture." the boy asked, adding the last bit and making the berserker hero look at him with a strange expression. He heard Donna hold back a snicker, looking back he saw the bemused look on her face from him being questioned by the boy, usually he would answer all the boy's questions without a problem but they were on a mission right now and he was in charge.

"No. They're naturally sharp…..somehow." he answered, he himself not entirely sure how his claws remained sharp as they were without him having to sharpen them. Garfield continued to ask questions as he led the Team to his home, James only accepted the idea because it would give them some time to relax before heading to the capital, as well as gather some intel on how the President could be influenced by Queen Bee…..however he didn't realize that meant having to play one hundred questions with this kid.

* * *

 **Logan Residence, Quarac, November 23rd 2010, 07:00a.m.**

James had to admit, the Logans had a nice plot of land. It looked like it was a farm at one point, complete with a large barn where they had set up the clinic for animals. "There you go pal. Hope you feel better." James said to the oryx as he fed the animal it's medicine. He gave the herbivore a pat on the head as Garfeild led the others out of the barn and towards the house with Wonder Girl staying behind and leaning against the doorway. As the young man stood up, he looked over to the smirk of his lover and held his hands up, "Full disclosure, Robin and Aqualad never talked to me about being leader. Little bastard dumped it on me last minute."

The amazon held back a short laugh, "I figured as much." she replied as she shut the door to the barn closed so the Oryx wouldn't run off. She noticed the slight frown he had on his lower face, walking over she reached out and pulled the mask off his head revealing the conflicted expression he had. "Your doing a good job. I've heard how the first mission went and it's already going ten times better than that." she complimented, trying to brighten his spirits.

James sighed as he crossed his arms, "Yeah but….I didn't want to be leader in the forst place because I didn't know anyone when I joined. I didn't think I had the right to be a leader if I didn't know them." he explained, Wonder Girl nodding in understanding at his logic. "But now…I'm just worried. What if I screw up and someone gets hurt because of it?" he asked.

James held little to no regard for his own safety, he was capable of healing from any injury so he didn't need to concern himself with his own safety. However that didn't bring peace of mind, he tended to not worry about his friends since they were capable but he still found himself uneasy about giving orders that could backfire and get them hurt or even worse.

Donna laid a hand on his shoulder, he looked up and saw her sympathetic smile, "James. Your doing fine. What your feeling right now? That's called duty, the desire to make sure everyone is safe and complete the mission. But we're all here for you, it's a two way streak. Ok?" she asked, trying to relay her point to him. She saw that the Team worked because they supported one another, didn't matter if they were the leader or not they all cared for one another.

The berserker smiled, "Yeah, ok." he accepted as he pulled his mask back down over his face. As he did however, his hearing picked up a noise in the distance, making him stiffen. It was multiple aircraft, small, heading on a direct course for them, "Drones, six o'clock." he said as he moved to the door while Donna piled up behind him, peeking out the door he looked out towards the source of the sound.

There were three of them in a V formation, looking over to the house he saw Robin, Superboy, and Kid Flash in the doorway. He held his hand up at them, hopefully the drones would pass over if they didn't see any signs of activity, however these hopes where quickly dashed as he caught sight of Ms. Martian and Marie returning to the property. "Superboy cover them!" he called out as he ran out of the barn with Donna taking to the air.

The drones opened fire on the veterinarian and Martian, however M'gann pushed her onto the ground as bullets ripped up where they were a second ago before Conner leapt over and shielded them with his back. As Wolverine unsheathed his claws he heard someone run past behind him, looking back he saw Garfield run into the clinic, "Oh that stupid-" he muttered as he slid to a stop and then doubled back to the barn. The boy opened the barn door and ran over to the Oryx and lead it to the doors.

As the animal ran away from the barn, Gar turned to find Wolverine looming over him with a less than pleased look, making him audible gulp. Before James could give him a earful, the drones opened fire toward them, James covered Garfield with his body, the young man gritting his teeth as bullets ripped into his flesh. The hero looked up and saw the gunfire approaching the large propane tank on the side of the clinic, "Shit!" he yelled as he tried to protect the boy before betting blown back from the explosion.

The two went flying though the air before they crashed into the ground and rolled across the grass. Wolverine's back gained a few new bullet holes but it was Garfield that he was more concerned with, looking down into his arms he saw that Garfield wasn't burned or shot but his nose was bleeding, his clothes were torn up from the explosion and he was unconscious. But James could hear his heartbeat, he was still alive. Standing up he carried him over to his shell shocked mother.

"Get him inside." James growled out through gitted teeth, his entire left arm was covered in burns and his left eye was exposed as well. He heard the drones turn for another run, however that was before M'gann used her telekinesis to tear the wings off it.

"I told you there'd be conciquences!" Marie's cracked voice said to James.

As Robin helped her inside with Garfield, James made his way over to drone that Ms. Martian took down. Unsheathing his claws in his left hand he plunged them into the nose where the camera is for good measure as M'gann flew down and landed next to him. "Is Garfield alright!? I saw what happened and-" she stopped as James violently ripped his claws out with a growl.

James turned his head to her and took a deep breath, "Ms. Martian, get the Bioship. See if we have anything that can help the kid. Get back as soon as possible." he said as the flesh on his arm returned to it's normal condition. The green girl nodded before using her telepathy to summon the Bioship to their position, as she started to stake off however James spoke, "M'gann." he stated, "This is why we don't stick around." he said.

His tone wasn't angry or bitter, but the words carried a venom that stung M'gann. He was absolutely right, if they hadn't have interacted or stayed then Garfield wouldn't have been hurt, that was a matter of fact. She flew towards the house as James fallowed after her on foot, arriving inside the house he could smell the blood from the kid the second he passed through the threshold, there were small droplets on the floor. He saw Robin, Superboy, and Kid Flash enter from the hall, "How is he?" the feral teen asked.

Robin took a seat on the couch in front of Donna, "Miss. M is going to try and use her shapeshifting to match his blood type…..we can only wait." the body wonder explained before running his hands up his face, "And on top of that, Harjavi steps down tomorrow. Subjecting all of Quarc to this danger-ow!" he explained as Donna bonked him on the head before tilting her head over to James who looked like he was on the verge of seething mad. "…KF kind us a news channel." Robin quickly asked as James stomped outside.

Taking a seat on the chained swing on the porch, he held his head in his hands, how did thing go so South so fast? _Fate just loves screwing me over doesn't it?_ he thought to himself as he heard the door to the house open and a pair of familiar footsteps approach him, he didn't look up as he left his hands fall into his lap. "What was that you were saying before?" he asked dryly.

Donna kneeled down in front of him and cupped his chin before tilting his head up at her's, "That was not your fault. That was Queen Bee and her men that did this." she reaffirmed, giving him a hard look. "If I ever get my hands on her, I will personally break her fucking spine."

James could only stare at Donna in disbelief before smirking, "Donna Troy, your perfect." he said, making Donna snicker as he stood up along with her. "Come on, we can still get Harjavi safed." he said as he led the amazon into the house and found the others watching Television…and a show called Hello Megan on…..with a girl who looked exactly like M'gann did.

Suffice to say, Donna and James could only watch with their jaws hanging in disbelief until James spoke, "This is…..what the hell am I even….." he started as M'gann entered the room to inform them that they were done. Kid Flash quickly changed the television to the news channel where Harjavi was speaking. The Martian being none the wiser what her teammates saw.

As the president spoke however, Sueprboy noticed someone among the staff behind him, "Hey that guy in back, I know him." he said, Robin brought his holographic screen up and used it's magnify option to zoom in on the shadowy figure.

M'gan recognized him when his face became clearer, "It's Psimon, the psychic we fought last time we were in Biyalia." M'gann explained. James and Donna both read what happened in the deserts and how Psimon used his powers to erase the past few months from everyone's heads. However M'gann was able to use her powers to fix everyone. "He was working for Queen Bee then, he must be controlling Harjavi for hernow." she surmised.

James grinned, "Good, we got our target then."

* * *

 **Dhabar, Quarc. November 23, 2010. 22:00 p.m.**

The President's office and home was near the outskirts of the capitol city, thankfully the Bioship was able to get them in the airspace without detection. Inside the cockpit of the ship, the Team watched as the capitol building got closer, "Alright, we enter through the roof, and use the ventilation system to find the President and extract him to safety. Psimon's powers have a range to them so we get Harjavi out of here and the mission is complete." he said to the others. "Psimon isn't the target, but if we run into him, we take him down. Either way works."

The others nodded in agreement as the cloaked ship hovered above the roof. The floor in the center of the roof opened up as cables reached down from the ceiling, Robin, Kid Flash, and Wolverine clipped them on and jumped out while Ms. Martian carried Superboy down with her Telekinesis and Wonder Girl simply flew down ahead to the grate and tore it off it's bolts.

The team entered the ventilation system of the building, Robin using scematics of the compound to guide them to Harjavi's office. _'Straight through this intersection. '_ Robin led as he crawled through the vents with the others fallowing him. Superboy was behind him, with KF fallowing, Ms. Martian was behind him and in front of Wonder Girl with James at the end.

As the team neared Harjavi's office however, James's nose picked up the scent of guards. _'Hold up. Guards outside the office from all doors….it's a trap.'_ he told the others through the mental link.

 _'Alright what do we do?'_ Robin asked as he stopped in front of the vent in the ceiling of the office.

Wolverine pondered to himself for a moment, they knew they were coming so if any of the guards heard anything or suspected anything fowl, they might attack the President. _'Me, Wonder Girl, and Superboy will take the guards out. Kid, Robin, M'gann, you guard the target. There are three groups, one per door.'_ he explained as he broke off from the others to get into position.

Once he was above the team outside one of the doors, he waited until Wonder Girl and Superboy got into position. When he gave the order, he dropped down through the vent ontop of one of the men, the others all turned to him armed with some sort of strange, alien weaponry. He rasied his hands and popped his claws, "I've had a real shitty day, and guess who I'm going to take it out on?" he asked before lunging into the group.

While in the air he sliced through one of the weapons with each hand, landing on one foot he slammed the other into one of their knee's, bending it the opposite way and making him yell out in agonizing pain. James swiped is fist back, just grazing the side of one of their faces and making them fall to the ground as he used his other hand to slam one's face into the wall, then pulling it back to elbow another in the face before spinning around and pointing his claws directly at the face of one of the soldiers as he picked up one of the weapons. "Try it. I dare you." the berserker threatened, the soldier dropped his weapon.

Wolverine punched him square in the face and knocked him out before walking to the door and opening it to find Robin and Kid Flash with Harjavi and his daughter. However Ms. Martian was nowhere to be found, "Oh come on, where is she!?" he asked. This was the second time that M'gann had run off during this mission and he was really starting to get annoyed with it.

The other two doors opened with Wonder Girl and Superboy behind them, "Is he ok?" James asked, looking over at the President as he seemed to come out of what could only be described as a strange trance. Robin nodded, "Good then let's find Ms. M." he said as he picked up the Martian's scent and led the others towards her. Making their way throughout the building, they entered a auditorium area just before the group felt a collective attack on their minds, all of them falling to the ground unconscious.

All except for James however, instead of unconsciousness all he felt as a bad wave os nausea pass over him. _Oh god. I haven't felt this sick since I had to kill my first animal for food._ he thought to himself as he shakily stood up. Looking over across the auditorium he saw Psimon as well as-

James' eyes widened, "What the hell? Is this real or…what?" he asked in a confused tone as he held his head, the migrane still very present.

 _'NO!'_ a horrified M'gann creamed out across the mental Link as the other psychic let out a bemused chuckle.

"Well, well, well. It looks like you Brain Blasting your own teammates didn't work like you wanted Martian. Guess that metal in his head can stop more than bullets." The pale man said in a amused tone as a look of realization crossed the bersker's face. The white thing, standing a good two feet over him with long arms that reached the floor and had talons, with a large red X across it's chest was M'gann. However, he directed his attention to Psimon.

"Hey pasty. You said my adamantium can block psyhic attacks right?" he asked as he began to make his way over to the metahuman as it dawned on him what that meant.

"Psimon says-" he began before James grabbed him and slammed his head into his, knocking the telepath out with a concussion before dropping him to the ground, he didn't notice M'gann's eyes glow red and Psimon begin to drool. James then took a minute to gather himself before turning to M'gann, the Martian attempting to cover herself in shame.

"Megan, you ok?" he asked as he walked over to the alien.

M'gann looked at him in disbelief as he approached her, _'Y….your not afraid?'_ she asked, as he got closer however she backed away, _'But look at me I'm…I'm-'_ she said in his mind, her voice beginning to crack.

The bersker paused in his walk after seeing her hesitance. "A freak? M'gann your taking to a guy who got blown up earlier and is walking around without a sratch on him. Your boyfriend is a clone of a superpowered alien. What on earth makes you think I'd be afraid of you….besides you saw the Wendigo right?" he asked jokingly. M'gann however didn't seem at all conviced, "M'gann….you all accepted me even when I was losing my grip on my rage. So trust me, you have nothing to be afraid of…even if this look is pretty shocking." he added.

M'gann was silent for a moment before her shape changed back into her stealth outfit with her skin tone back to green. He arms crossed her chest and her head hung low as she let out a sniffle, James closed the distance between them and gave her a hug she desperately needed, "M'gann, don't be ashamed of yourself. And if anyone makes you feel that way? Point them out to me, I'll take it from there." the Martian choked out a chuckle before breaking off their hug, Wolverine resting a hand on her shoulder as she pulled away. "But we are going to talk about you brain blasting everyone…and running off…..and helping me get rid of this migraine." he said as he rubbed his head to try and soothe the pain.

"I know and I'm sorry…and I'll tell the others but….not now. Ok?" she asked, James gave her a nod of understanding before she looked over a Psimon, "Well with Psion out of the picture, Harjavi is no longer under his control….but what do we do now? He's supposed to step down tomorrow, and Queen Bee will be expecting it." she pointed out, making the feral hero cup his chin in contemplation.

"M'gann, how good are your impressions?"

* * *

 **Mount Justice, November 24th 2010, 13:53 p.m.**

It took a little work but with M'gann posing as Queen Bee, the President was capable of denouncing her rule and proclaiming that her rule would never be recognized. While this could be considered to be underhanded James didn't care all that much, Harjavi was safe and Queen Bee got screwed over. All and all he thought the mission turned out well, and on top of all this Garfield was good as new thanks to M'gann's blood.

After a quick trip to the Logan residence to check up on the kid they fallowed up by heading home and James was more than happy to see Kaldur awaiting them when he walked down the ram, "Congratulations on completing the mission." he said as James pulled his mask back off his head while the others disembarked as well.

"Thanks. And by the way, next time you and Robin decide to make me leader without telling me? I'm going to deck you both." he threatened jokingly, making the Atlantean smile. His friend's expression became serious, "But I got to know….why me? I never wanted to be a leader. I mean I go off on my own more often then everyone else, I got more anger issues than Superboy, and….I'm me." he listed off.

Aqualad crossed his arms as he listened to his friend, "While some of those qualities are true, I think you forgot your attributes as well. You think things through but also adapt to the situation, and while you may be easy to anger you hardly ever let it dictate your actions. But most importantly it's because you do not wish to be leader, because you know of the responsibility it brings, and the costs if you fail." he explained, causing the young man to sigh.

Kaldur wasn't wrong, and he hated that. "I talked to Conner on the way back, Queen Bee's men had Apocalypian tech. Same type that Sphere and him took out when they went AWOL. Question is, how did they get their hands on that sort of weaponry?" he asked.

Kaldur gave him an worried look, "I do not know. But this isn't the first time unrelated villains have acquired another's possessions." he said, thinking back to how just recently the ice fortresses were all made by technology that four ice based super villains were familiar with, and they were all imprisoned at the time. "I believe there may be more at play here than we realize."

James frowned at the notion, this was beginning to sound like the Injustice League all over again. "Well we stopped them today. Best we can do right?" he asked before walking off towards the elevator and entering. Taking it to the second level of the base, he then went straight to his room to change out of his torn up costume.

After changing into a pair of sweats and a tee shirt, he flopped down onto the bed, mentally exhausted from the events of the day. Within moments however he heard the door open, without looking up he knew it was Donna from her scent, "I am never leading anything or anyone ever again." he stated bluntly as the Amazonian walked over and lifted his head up off the mattress before sitting down and placing it in her lap. Looking up at the warrior princess he smiled, "You made it easier though." he added.

Donna wore her regular clothe but without the jacket and boots, her hand combed through his hair, the action helping soothe the headache he had gotten from M'gann. He hadn't mentioned a word of what happened to anyone and he didn't plan to, it was her choice when like it was with Artemis and her family. Her other hand reached out and clasped his, "I think you did a great job. It could have gone much worse." she said supportively.

"I refuse to talk anymore about the mission. ow about I lock the door, you and I grab a movie and popcorn and we get nice a cozy under the blanket." he suggested. The amazon let out a hum of contemplation, he was reminded of how she did something similar yesterday when they were sparring and trying to come up with a reward for whoever won.

"Alright, but skip the popcorn." she said before leaning down and pressing her lips against his and kissing him deeply before pulling away. "We'll be preoccupied." she added.

James grinned as he sat up and kissed her again, it was a shame they weren't in Donna's room where the walls were soundproof.

* * *

 **AN: I LIVE!**

 **As does this story. Now I did find a site to watch the episodes on but honestly the streaming is shit and I just decided it would be easier to buy the damn blu-rays. So I did, and now I got all the epsidoes now…..and no excuses to delay this fic…motherfucker I played myself.**

 **Speaking of Die Hard (and before I get shit, IT IS A CHRISTMAS MOVIE) I hope you all had a great Christmas, or whatever holiday you celebrate.**

 **Now as I'm sure all of you know. A certain film came out that has people…divided.**

 **But fuck it, The Last Jedi was a great film to me. I know it has flaws but this is also a film series about space wizards who use light swords to save the princess. I can say that because I've been watching Star Wars since before I could read…..made the opening crawl very boring and frustrating.**

 **No spoilers of course I'm not that kind of asshole who would spoil that Snoke is Windu.**

 **I'm kidding…it's Chewbaca's son.**

 **But seriously no. No he's not.**

 **But in all seriousness it's a film, your entitled to your opinion and are always welcome here no matter what they are.**

 **Anyway until next time, hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and again Happy Holidays!**

 **And fuck 2017, this year kind of sucked.**


	21. Chapter 21 (Agendas)

**Agendas**

* * *

 **New York City, November 24** **th** **2010, 11:46 a.m.**

"I missed this." Donna said as she used her bracers to defect bullets from the criminals she and Diana had happened upon while flying though the city. Their patrol used to be a weekly activity they would do together but between all the missions the Team had and the various emergencies that Wonder Woman had to attend to they hadn't had the time. So when Diana dropped by the cave to see if she wanted to go on a patrol she all but jumped at the opportunity to spend some time with her.

Wonder Woman dropped behind the gunman and bashed their heads together, "Yes it's been too long since we had some time to relax together." Wonder Woman sympathized as the third robber tried to run away, only to have Donna's lasso wrap around his leg and pull him off his feet, making him faceplant on the pavement. Wonder Girl brought him over with his other two associates and bound them with her lasso.

"You're going to wait here until the cops arrive and then confess to all your crimes." Donna said, her magic lasso glowing blue as the three went into a trance-like state and nodded in agreement to her request before the amazon unwrapped them and took to the air with her mentor. Flying over midtown, Donna looked over at Wonder Woman and smiled, "So do you have any plans for Thanksgiving? M'gann is cooking everyone a meal at the cave and if you don't have anything going on you can come by." she offered.

Diana gave her protégée a saddened smile, "I would love to Donna but we have a League meeting tomorrow. Sorry." she apologized.

However Donna simply shrugged, "Well worth a shot….what's the meeting about?" she asked, Diana's silence told her all she needed to know. The younger amazon let out a sigh, "Ok I get it, top secret League business." she said understandingly, surprising her mentor as they landed underneath a bridge with a Zeta Tube at the underside's ramp structure.

Wonder Woman placed her hand on Donna's shoulder, "How about the day after you and I head back to Themyscira for a visit?" she offered, making Donna's face light up with glee at the notion of a visit. She hadn't been to the island since she had left, it had been far too long since she had seen any of her friends from the island and she couldn't wait to tell them of man's world. She could tell them about James….

She suddenly felt a pang of guilt in her chest, Diana noticed the look on her face and gave her a imploring look, "Diana….there's something I need to tell you." she began as her reached her arm across her chest and grabbed her elbow, her pose showing aix of nervousness and shame. "I….well….I met someone…" she started, risking a glance up at her mentor to see Diana…smiling?

"Donna that's wonderful! Who is it?" she asked curiously.

'Wait…your not mad I kept this from you?" Wonder Girl asked curiously.

The older Amazon gave her sister a sly smile, "Donna, do you truly believe that I've never been in your shoes?" she asked before a wistful smile appeared on her face, "The first man I met, Steve Trevor, was…..he showed me that man's world wasn't the horrid place we believed it was for so long. But I had to return to the island, he perished after I left but I treasured the time I had with him…..so tell me, who had won my sisters' heart?" she asked with a albeit teasing tone that made Donna's cheeks redden.

"James…..we've been together for a while now and…..I felt bad not telling you." she admitted. At first she was somewhat scared how Diana would react but with how interested she was, perhaps she misjudged her sister?

"James? I must admit I'm surprised…..but I'm also happy for the two of you." Diana said happily, making Donna release a breath she was holding. "Does Laura know?" Diana asked curiously.

"No…James thought it'd be best if he tell her….he's scared to do it though." Wonder Girl muttered as she thought back to his exact words of Laura possibly skinning him.

Wonder Woman gave Donna a blank stare, "That's completely understandable." she said, fully aware that Laura could be somewhat protective of James even though he was part of the team. However she also knew that Laura had acknowledged this fact and was opening up to James as less of a protector and more as a confidant.

* * *

 **Mount Justice, November 24** **th** **2010 12:00 p.m.**

"You screwed around with Wonder Girl didn't you?" Laura casually asked James as he took a drink of milk, the question causing the young man to spit out his drink onto the kitchen countertop. He coughed almost violently as his half sister smirked with triumph at him before taking a bite of the apple in her hand as James pointed an accusing finger at her.

"What the hell?! How can you ask something like that when I'm eating!?" He asked in a harsh whisper as pounded his chest to cease his coughing fit.

"I don't hear you denying it." His sibling stated, James' silence spoke volumes and made the clone of Logan fold her arms over her chest. "Look I'm just going to tell you his once. Don't screw this up, I like Donna. She kicked Kimura's ass, that's more than enough to put her on my good side." the clone said, making James blush beat red. As he resumed eating she spoke again, "Was she satisfied at least?" James understandably nearly choked on his food once again.

James glared at her, "Jump off a cliff." he growled out.

"Mmmhmm." Laura teased in a unconvincing tone. James let out a low growl.

"You want to go pipsqueak?" James asked, making Laura laugh as she held up her arms. James calmed down when he heard he laugh. "Look I just…I love her Laura." he stated, causing the clones eyes to widen. That was a big word to use but by the tone of his voice he was dead serious. James looked down at the table, "We got together after the messed up mission…..she told me how she felt while we were in there and I found myself thinking about it before that mission…." he trailed off before Laura raised her hand.

"James, I'm happy for you. Both of you." she said, making the young man smile. "But you break her heart? God help you." she warned, James solemnly nodded in agreement. As she took another bite she looked over to the kitchen where bags of foods had been laid out in preparation for Thanksgiving, Laura frowned as she realized it would be James' first Holiday without any of his family, her included since there was a mandatory Justice League meeting tomorrow all day to discuss current and new membership. Her gaze went over to James as he finished up his drink, since the announcement of the meeting she had been mulling over a question.

Should she recommend James to join? On the one hand he hadn't been with them in such a capacity like Batman and Robin but she was mostly to blame for that. She wanted to shelter James from this life while at the same time try and let him live it, but within the span of a few months he had learned so much. He learned how to work on a team, he learned how to fight on a level that rivaled her, he learned to control his berserker state, he never could have accomplished that on his own.

But the biggest thing she had to ask herself was if James even wanted to join the League.

But she couldn't just ask him, the nature of the meeting tomorrow was supposed to be held secret with no one talking outside the League about it. She had joined because Logan wanted her to, and it was something she needed in order to break away from her past. _Well maybe I could recommend him, tell him about it and see if he wants it. He can decline if he doesn't and accept if he does._ she reasoned before going back to eating her apple and James put his dishes in the sink.

"So tomorrow is Thanksgiving, M'gann is going to do this huge meal for me, Conner, Zatanna, and anyone else who shows up. I'll save you some leftovers." he said as he cleaned off the dishes, making Laura smile as she finished eating the apple, core included. She ruffled his hair as she walked behind him, walking towards the mission room she passed Donna at the doorway as walked past.

Walking up behind James as he washed out his cup, she wrapped her arms around him and laid her head against his back. "Hey there." she greeted as James continued to clean.

"Hey beautiful." he greeted as he quickly turned around and embraced her, "So how's your was day?" he asked before planting a quick peck on her cheek and pulling back.

The Amazonian let out a sigh, "Well I caved and told Diana." she admitted, causing her better half's eyes to widen until she gave him a reassuring look, "Don't worry! She's fine with it, she's actually happy for the both of us….she was a little worried about Laura though." she added as she folded her arms over her chest and met James' eyes. The he refused to meet her gaze, she knew what it meant, "Oh god she knows doesn't she?"

"More like she found out…..her exact words were, 'You screwed around with Wonder Girl didn't you?' and then I just kept choking on my drink." he revealed, causing Donna to hold her mouth to muffle a chuckle. "So we told both our mentors and we live to see another day." he said as he looked to the turkey that M'gann had prepared, "So tomorrow we gather around the table, stuff our faces with copious amounts of food. Then fall asleep watching sports…..a hallowed tradition indeed." he joked whilst as waked over into the lounge and leapt over onto the couch and laid down.

Donna leaned over the back of the couch looking down at him with a playful smirk before hopping over onto him, "Hey!" he yelped out as Donna laid herself out atop him, lifting her head back their eyes met and James released a chuckle, "You know someone could catch us." he pointed out to her.

"Well Artemis knows, Zatanna too, and I think Wally as well." The amazon began, "I think Robin does too now that I think about it. He does learn from the world's greatest detective." she pointed out, James giving her a quick nod of agreement with that reasoning. "Who cares? Though I will miss sneaking around…..then again I can kiss you in front of everyone now" she said before leaning down and pressing her lips against his passionately. He felt Donna's hands press down onto his chest, her fingers curling against the fabric and he planted small kisses on her neck, making her release a soft moan.

She quickly grabbed his wrists and pinned his hands on the arm of the couch behind his head. Donna leaned back leaving James looking up at her with a wolfish grin, "Oh that's how it is then?" he asked before trying to lift his arms and sit up so he would have Donna in his lap but to no effect. He tried to sit up again but found that with her strength his girlfriend had him pinned down, when he heard his girlfriend chuckle he looked up at her bemused expression, "…not a word Troy." he stated.

"Make me." she challenged amusingly. James stared up at her defiantly, only causing the amazon to laugh until she released his hands. James glared at her as she sat upright in his lap, deciding to get a little payback the feral push her onto her back onto the couch's opposite arm and began making a hickey on the side of her neck. "Mmmmhhh, J-James! Not hereeee…" she trailed off into a moan as he gently sunk his teeth into her skin with enough force to leave a mark with no pain.

However when he suddenly pulled away, leaving a wet mark on the side of her neck she opened her eyes and looked up to see him smiling cockily at her before sitting back down on the couch on the opposite end. He glanced over as she sat upright, her glare making the young man triumphantly smile at her frustration, "Doesn't feel too good does it?" he asked before the couch pillow hit the side of his face, "Worth it." he stated simply as Donna kicked her feet up on the table and turned in the TV, looking for something they could both watch.

* * *

 **Watchtower, November 25** **th** **2010, 06:00 a.m.**

Laura leaned back in her seat and kicked her feet up onto the long U shaped table in the main hall of the Watchtower. Every member of the Justice League was present for today, she sat between Black Canary and Hawkgirl on the right side of the table. The clone's gaze went over to Doctor Fate as he stood with his arms crossed over his chest, she had heard how Zatara had been forced into putting on the helm of fate. She fought back the urge to sneer, _Why the hell is he even here?_ she thought to herself.

The young woman heard four people enter the room, looking over to the door she saw Batman, Superman, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman enter as the windows on either wall had their covers drawn down. _Guess you can never be too careful._ Laura thought as the metal shutters covered the glass plated windows.

"Our agenda is clear." Aquaman began before looking over his fellow League members, "What's at stake, should not be underestimated." he said.

"The decisions we make today will reverberate for years to come." Superman added to Aquaman's claim.

"And whether or not the world continues to put it's trust in the Justice League." Wonder Woman finished, enforcing the importance of this meeting to everyone present. Batman asked for everyone to be seated, as everyone took their spots however Laura folded her arms over her chest and waited for the opening deliberation. This meeting was an annual event that took place during the end of the year on different days so no one would piece together what all the heroes of the League gathered somewhere.

"Before we begin however, Martian Manhunter wanted o voice some concerns." Superman said before nodding to J'onn.

The Martian stood up with all eyes on him, "I am concerned that another expansion of the League could generate another escalation of hostilities from our enemies." he spoke, getting to the point of his issue. "No one needs, or wants, another Injustice League." he finished frankly before taking his seats.

Superman nodded, "Point well taken J'onn. But the option remains open to vote 'no' on all candidates." the Kryptonian explained, Laura silently feeling relived if she was in fact wrong with her nomination. 'With that, I'd like to nominate Icon for League Membership." Kryptonian announced proudly as a hologram of an strong looking African American hero with a domino mask on appeared in a hologram in between the tables. His costume was basic with a black cape, red suit torso and black pants. With a ring in the center of his chest with four straps going over and under his arms

Laura looked down at the small screen in front of her seat, on the screen was a general analysis that was conducted on him pertaining to his powers, background, and what they could find out about his origin. _Super Strength, flight, limited invincibility…energy blasts? Hmmmm…..we could use another heavy hitter like Supes._ the clone thought to herself. However there wasn't much on his origin or his background.

"Why? Because you think he might be Kryptonian like you did with Captain Marvel?" Green Arrow asked in a somewhat bemused manner, making the aforementioned hero perk up and find that fact cool. Laura even cracked a smile.

Wonder Woman put a hand on Superman's shoulder, "Icon interests me was well. As does his pupil, Rocket." the amazon said as the hologram changed to a teenage girl. "Athena knows we could use more women in the league." she said coyly as she looked over the mostly male seated table. Laura gave a thumbs up as Hawkgirl and Black Canary voiced their opinions as well.

None of the men at the table, not even Billy, said a single word….little did they know this would be one of the the best decisions for the entire meeting.

"Her belt gives her abilities, concussive absorption through energy fields as well as flight, this would make her idea for defensive roles as well as offensive. She would be great for evacuations as well as containment situations" John Stewart, one of the Green Lanterns pointed out. The others nodding in agreement of the assessment, while taking down enemies was a primary focus of most of their missions so was avoiding collateral damage.

"If we're discussing use of powers outside of combat I have a nomination as well." Batman started as he typed on his screen, projecting a tiny man in a red and blue suit.

Captain Marvel smirked amusingly, "The Atom? What use can he do at that size?" he asked.

"It's the size that makes him useful." Batman refuted, Laura agreed. This guy had the potential, more than Icon or Rocket had. _He'd be perfect for infiltration, and disassembly._ she thought to herself. If this guy wanted to he could sneak onto something like the Amazo Android and shut him down from the inside without it knowing.

"Agreed, but we could always have more firepower. And Earth does has two other Green Lanterns. Guy-" The Flash began.

"No." Hal and John said at the same time. The speedster was about to suggest again but was shot down even quicker. Even for the speedster, "Well then what about the other one, Kyle Reyner?" he suggested instead before projecting a image of the other Green Lantern.

This one was significantly younger than the other Lanterns, around his early to mid-twenties with light skin and black hair. He had a mask over his eyes similar to how Hal wore one but the costume was different from the others, he had green sleeves on over his palms and forearms and matching boots with a black bod suit with a large white square on the chest and the Lantern symbol on the left side of his chest.

Hal cupped his chin in contemplation, "Me and John both talked to him, he's different. He doesn't have a military background like we do, but he's one of the most creative with his power ring. I could see him fitting in, John?" he asked his fellow Lantern, who seemed more conflicted.

"Your right about the creativity, but I'm more concerned with experience. He's the newest out of Earth's Lanterns. But with you and me on the team with him? I think he'd make up for it fast." the marine concluded, they had both picked up on how to use their power rings fairly quickly after acquiring them. And with both of them helping him, he'd fit in quickly.

Laura gave the projection of the Lantern a curious look, _Artist huh? I guess that would be pretty handy as a Green Lantern._ she thought to herself as she read over his profession.

"Another Lantern would be favorable addition. And Gardner could patrol the entire sector while the others help with the League on Earth." Martian Manhunter stated as he rubbed his chin in contemplation.

Laura saw this as her chance, "Since we're talking new members with similar powers for more missions, I want to nominate Wolverine." Laura stated as she tapped her screen, projecting an image of James in his costume. "I know he hasn't been with the team very long but he's shown that he can be a team player…..more than we can say about Logan." she added, making a few of the members nod their head in agreement.

Batman thought back to when Wolverine chastised him for letting the Joker continue to live. His exact words were….colorful to say the least, and the dark knight never approved of Logan's outright willingness to take life, however he also recognized that Logan was this way because of his own demons and how he became Wolverine. He was hesitant to allow Laura into the League for her similar beginning but she showed that she could control her more deadly impulses. And James was entirely different, he grew up with a loving family, was surrounded by friends, and it was clear that even when he did take life he was very hesitant to do so.

Black Canary nodded, "I agree, James has shown that he can hold his own in a fight and that he works well with others. He and Superboy are especially close." she pointed out, Laura noticed Superman fold his arms over his chest as a uncomfortable look appeared on his face. "And the goal of the Team is to prepare them for joining the League." she pointed out.

Doctor Fate however spoke up, **"True, but the problem with him is the same as Reyner. He has only been active for less than a year. Training is meant to prepare, but experience trumps training every time."** the mixed voices said. The clone slowly nodded, compared to the others on the Team James didn't have as much experience than others outside of small vigilante work in Canada. And a good portion of that was training by her.

They weren't anywhere close to finished…Laura suddenly wished she took James up on his offer.

* * *

 **Mount Justice, November 25** **th** **2010, 10:15 a.m.**

James stared at the food that M'gann had prepared with Zatanna. To say it was a feast would be understating it, Wally was in a similar state with a bit of drool in the corner of his mouth. "This is the best holiday ever." the speedster said, James nodding in agreement at the sight of all the food. As part of his survival training he had been forced to learn some harsh truths about food, like you can't eat uncooked meat, and that some berries were poisonous to humans and not birds, and that you shouldn't try and eat snow in place of drinking actual water.

Something like this made him think of those hard times and make him hunger even more. "West if you eat it all with your superspeed you'll be back in a cast for twice as long." he threatened as he and Wally walked over to a bowl, as James reached in however, a wooden spoon smacked both his and Wally's hands, making them let out yelps.

"You two! Out!" They looked over to see a very aggravated Donna Troy. The amazon princess had attempted to join Zatanna and M'gann in preparing food…only to stop when she nearly made the apple pie burn. Donna Troy had met her match…..cooking a meal, and she was getting only more and more frustrated with repeated failure. Her brow was cresed, her eyes were sharpened to daggers, and the scorch mars on the blue apron she wore made her look like a housewife from hell.

James took this latest snap as his que to back off, "Ok I'll…go find something to do." he said, the aggravated look Donna held on her features didn't cease, "…..do you want me to get you something?" he offered.

"Something to kill. Violently." She growled out as Zatanna put her hands on the amazon's shoulders and gently led her back into the kitchen. Mentioning kneading some dough.

James took his leave and made his way out of the Lounge, Wally seemed to consider risking a small snack before realizing he had food at his place, "I better run, dad will kill me if I'm later for Thanksgiving dinner!" he proclaimed before quickly swiping a few treats from a bowl and running off, M'gann calling him out as he ran.

Donna was about to yell out a threat before she heard a quiet sniffle, looking over at the source she saw Zatanna wipe something from her eye. The Amazonian felt her heart clench, it was her first Thanksgiving without her father here…..that had to be hard. She walked over and placed a hand on the magician's shoulder, Zatanna tensed at the touch, "I'm sorry. Must be the garlic." she weakly excused before she turned her head and saw the small smile Donna had. "It's just…..I used to make this stuff with…..it's my first thanksgiving without my dad."

Donna pulled her in and wrapped her up in a hug which Zatanna gratefully returned.

As this tender moment transpired between the two, James was walking towards the elevator to the hanger, he hadn't messed around with his bike in a while so what better way to kill some time than some maintenance? As he approached the elevator however, he suddenly heard a high pitched whine, "Ow! What the hell?" he asked himself as the noise continued for a few seconds before dying down. "Was that a god whistle or something?" he asked, thinking back to one time when a dog's owner used the instrument near James.

Sticking his pinky in his ear he tried to rid himself of the lingering sensation for a moment until Superboy and Wolf passed him. "Hey, you didn't happen to hear a loud whine did you?" he asked as he pulled his finger from his ear and bushed off what wax he collected.

Wolf let out a small whine at the mention, "Yeah I think it was the communicators acting up." Superboy said, as James finally regained his full ability to hear he rubbed the back of his neck. "What are you doing?"

"Staying away from Donna until she can find someone else to take her frustrations out on. What about you?" James asked, thinking it was best to give Donna some space instead of trying to find a way to console her. He had learned that with her, if she was upset at something and wanted to talk it out she would come to him and talk, but if she wasn't in the mood to talk…..well he knew too well that when provoked, Donna was fierce.

Last time he tried to urge her to talk when she nearly bit his head off, it was about something stupid, he couldn't even remember what, but she would apologize if she was in the wrong. Until then however…..well he liked his genitals where they were thank you very much.

"Taking Wolf out for a walk." he answered simply, it wasn't technically a lie so he assumed James wouldn't pick up on.

The feral hero simply shrugged, "You wanted a dog."

"We already had you though." Superboy replied with a smirk, making James elbow him playfully. As Conner entered the elevator, Conner entered the elevator along with him but as the door closed they both noticed something. Something was burning, "You might want to stay down in the cave for the rest of the day." Superboy stated, knowing that out of the three girls that only one would be responsible for that.

 _Wonder if Laura is doing any better?_ He thought to himself.

* * *

 **Watchtower, November 25** **th** **2010, 11:00 a.m.**

"If we're really considering Blue Devil, then I nominate Red Arrow." Green Arrow said, sitting up from his seat and changing the projected image from the one hero to his former sidekick. "Roy has more experience and he's no kid anymore, he's eighteen. A legal adult. He's ready." the archer insisted.

"Is he?" Aquaman questioned, "Red Arrow has been uncooperative and disrespectful, if we reward that sort of behavior, what kind of message does that send to the rest of the Team?" he asked.

"He's right." Laura began, "When he didn't get his way, he quit and walked out on you and Aqualad and the others, his friends. And when they offered him a spot on the Team he refused, he may be eighteen but he's acted like a child." she said truthfully, she found sense Green Arrow tense up at her words. Captain Marvel put a hand on his shoulder beside him and eased him back down into his seat.

"In all fairness we were wrong to treat the Team like kids." Green Arrow rebuked, "We all saw the security footage, they thought of walking out with him. That fault is on us, not him." he defended. Black Canary frowned at Ollie from across the table, she knew well that Green Arrow felt guilt over Roy's sudden departure.

"Why not let other members of the Team on the League along with him? Like Wolverine or Aqualad?" Hawkman suggested to the others, "Me and Sharia both joined at the same time and helped us adjust….and keep cooler heads." he admitted, his wife giving him a small smile as she reached over and put her hand over his briefly.

"Wolverine hates Red Arrow." Laura stated bluntly, causing the table to shift their attention to herself. She shrugged, "Hey everyone hated Logan a little." she pointed out.

"No. Red Arrow might be eighteen but the rest of the Team, including James, are too young. We're not inducting children into the League." Superman stated, causing the debate to stall as Kryptonian voiced his opinion on the matter, the man of steel usually had a certain effect on debates like this. He was considered the greatest hero ever, so it was hard to argue against him for some.

"That seems pointless, I have been one with Kid Flash, he is ready." Doctor Fate said as a image of the speedster appeared between the desks.

Wonder Woman tapped her screen with a smirk, "And what about Zatanna?"

"Absolutely not!" The mage snapped, proving the Amazon's theory.

"That sounded almost protective Doctor. At least we know Zatara is still in there." she said with a satisfied look on her face.

At this, Captain Marvel stood from his seat, "Why is Doctor Fate a member? You coarsened Zatara into giving up his life for you, or else loose his daughter instead. Not cool." he pointed out to the rest of the room. Laura glared at Doctor Fate at Marvel's accusation.

"Should such behavior be condoned?" Red Tornado asked, the projection changing to Fate's likeness.

"Zatara desires Doctor Fate remains with the League." the helm in question responded.

"Says the helmet currently controlling his every word and action." Laura pointed out, another issue was the validity of everything fate said on Zatara's behalf. Without any way of knowing what the helm's user truly wanted how could anyone take him at his word alone.

"It is true that Zatara's trust in Fate is….measured. But that is why he wishes to stay on the League, and make sure he is watched closely." The helmet explained, Laura folded her arms over her chest skeptically at this. While it did sound like something that Zatara would indeed say, she still wasn't convinced that Fate was being truthful…

* * *

 **Mount Justice, November 25** **th** **2010, 17:30 p.m.**

James peeked into the lounge to see that for one, there was no longer a burning smell, and two, the food was all done. Since there wasn't room for a table in this part of the cave, they instead had all the food placed out on the counter for everyone to eat. Walking over to one od the stools he sat beside Donna and Kaldur. M'gann was on the other side with Zatanna sitting beside her and Robin beside him with Artemis at the end of the table. "Guess Conner is still out with wolf." he observed as Donna folded her napkin across her lap.

"Well he can eat when he gets back, but until then why don't we go around the table and say what we're thankful for?" M'gann supplied to the others at the table. "I'll go first, I'm thankful that I'm here on Earth surrounded by friends….Kaldur?" she asked.

The Atlantean smiled and nodded, "Very well….I'm grateful for many things. But above all else, I'm most grateful for my King letting me become his partner, and giving me the chance to meet each of you." he announced, aiming the others smile. As Robin went into what he was thankful for however, James thought to himself…..what did he have to be thankful for?

Every year at dinner he would say his family but…he didn't have them this year. Laura of course but that was different….the Hudsons raised him, he and Sammy used to play Hockey in the street when they were little kids….Heather would sit down with him and watch whatever he did just to spend time with her son. And Jerry….he taught James how to ride a bike…he tucked him into bed every night until he was six years old. He missed them every day…..he was sad about it of course, angry too…..but he didn't let those emotions effect him…..but all of the sudden it just felt harder.

"What about you James?" the young man looked up at Robin, "You thankful for anything?" he asked with a smirk.

The berserker was quiet, Donna looked over at looked at him expectantly until he spoke, "I'm thankful for…you guys….you all know the past few months have been….hard for me…..but all you were there for me when I needed you." he began, making the room fall silent before he continued. "And I want you guys to know that…..all you, here or not here? Your more than my friends….you guys are my family…..and I'd do anything for each of you." he confessed truthfully, looking down at the food on the counter he didn't meet anyone's faces until her felt Donna's lips touch his cheek.

Looking up from the counter he saw his teammates look at him with looks of acceptance and gratitude from his praise. "….this doesn't leave this counter." he quickly added, "And so help me god if anyone tells Harper about this I'll gut them." he threatened, making everyone at the table chuckle, "Seriously I'll do it!" he threatened, only to have his friends not take his threat seriously whatsoever.

As Artemis spoke about what she was thankful for, Donna reached under the table and clasped her hand over James. His eyes darted over and saw the heartfelt smile she had, he returned it as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. _But the one thing I'm most thankful for is you Donna Troy._ He thought to himself, determined to make sue that she would hear it later.

* * *

 **Mount Justice, November 25** **th** **2010, 19:12 p.m.**

It was six plates until James found himself filled to the brim with food to the point where he could no longer eat anymore. Robin had headed back to Gotham after the meal, wishing them a happy holiday before Aqualad announced he was heading to Atlantis to spend the remainder of the evening with his mother and father, M'gann was going to wait up for Conner to return so he could eat as well, and Zatanna fell asleep on the couch from having a little too much turkey. Artemis and Donna helped her into bed before the former left the cave.

Donna walked through the cave until she reached the door to James' room and opened it, finding her boyfriend laying on his back on his mattress, letting out a satisfied sigh as the Amazonian entered the room and shut the door behind her. "Can you die from overeating? I mean my healing factor burns through protein I take in but I don't think that means if I get hurt in the next hour or so I'll feel less full. Which I honestly am considering right about now." he said jokingly as his lover walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge of the bed and leaning back above James' head before leaning down and kissing him on the forehead.

"What you said was incredibly sweet." she said simply, James smiled up at her as her fingers began to comb through his hair. He let out another sigh, this one more blissful than discomforting than the one before, Donna looked around the empty walls of her lover's room. James had moved the Yashida sword to the trophy room along with the other souvenirs from their previous missions so there was nothing to tell this room apart from an uninhabited one, "You need to decorate your room."

James shrugged, "I don't really have anything to decorate with." he answered coyly, Donna's eyes rolled in response, "Besides, you're here right now. What else could make this room look better?" he asked, his lips trembled as he tried to hold back a laugh of how cheesy that sounded but failed as soon as Donna laid her face into his pillow to muffle her laughter.

When their amusement finally died down, James slid back onto the pillow beside Donna, she turned her face off the pillow to face him, "You know what I'm most thankful for though?" he asked sincerity in his voice. Donna waited for him with a small smile, "I'm thankful for you…the greatest thing in my life."

Donna's heartfelt expression made his heart clench, "James…." she trailed off before leaning in and pressing her lips to his, the two stayed in that loving kiss until James heard his communicator beep. Pulling away he let out a agitated grunt before pointing his finger to his ear, indicating his call, she simply nodded and rolled back onto the bed as James sat up and took the call.

"Yes?" he answered.

'Hey it's me.' Laura answered from the other end _,_ 'Just wanted to call and tell you that I just left the meeting…..are you free to talk right now?' she asked.

James frowned, "No."

'Your with Donna right now aren't you?' the clone asked, making him frown even more. Donna snickered at his expression as Laura spoke, 'Look untangle yourself from one another and listen…..we had a meeting today and you were brought up.' she started, making his frown instantly vanish. Why would he be brought up at a meeting of the Justice League? His first thought went to him being removed from the Team but he hadn't done anything to warrant such action to his knowledge. 'Look, I know you love being on the Team….but I made a recommendation for you to join the League.'

"You what!?" he nearly shouted in surprise, making Donna jumpy slightly. "Why would you-wait what did they say?" he asked, not sure which was more important, the fact which she did this in the first place, or what their answer was on the matter. On one hand he assumed that he would be considered for membership but not this soon, he thought in maybe a few years at least.

'Well….it's up to you now. They gave it the ok but ultimately it's your decision, I wasn't going to force you to join but I had to ask…..so just get back to me, and think about it ok?" she asked, James could only nod until he realized she couldn't see him before giving a verbal response.

"Yeah I'll….get back to you….thanks Laura." he answered before disconnecting and falling back onto the bed beside Donna. He ran his hands up his face, what's he supposed to do now? He just told the others that they were his family, but this was something that the Team was literally made to do, how could he say no?

"What's wrong?" Donna asked knowingly, the stressful expression on his face told her whatever news that James had received was troubling to him. His eyes darted over to hers before letting out a sigh, "Is it that bad?" she asked with a hint of concern in her voice.

He shook his head as he turned over onto his side and faced her, "Laura just told me that the League offered me membership." he explained, the Amazonian's eyes widened in surprise at the news.

"James that's great!"she proclaimed happily, James was unfazed by her excitement and instantly Donna deflated. "Ok then I ask again, what's wrong?"

He reached his hand out to her arm and slid it down to her hand, "It's just…I'm happy here. With you guys, but the whole point of the Team is to prepare us to join the League one day….I just didn't think it'd be this soon." he explained, his fingers entwining with her's as he finished.

The Amazonian was quiet for a few seconds before speaking, "It's your choice James, if you don't want to join, then stay here with us…..but either way? I got your back, even if my bed is less warm at night." she teased lightly.

James's lips pulled into a smirk, "I was thinking about that actually-"

"Five seconds after you hear it, glad your priorities are straight." She joked.

"-AND, I would probably still live here, I don't think there are living quarters on the Watchtower anyway. And if they did, I'd try and replace Red Tornado as den mother….have some late night inspections." he said as his hand slipped out of her's and slid around her waist, pulling her closer as she let out a small purr of intrigue. "Maybe a little invasive…"

Donna cupped his chin, "Hmmm….maybe you can give me a demonstration sometime?" she proposed before pressing into him until his back was on the mattress ad she was on tip of him. "But as interesting these policies sound, I'm still full from dinner."

James gave her a smile, "Sorry you were frustrated earlier…..if it's any consolation I was hoorible at cooking to."

"How'd you get better?" she asked as she laid her head down beside his.

James gave her a blank look, "When your dinner is a beaver liver, berries you're not sure are poisonous, and water from a stream you either learn how to cook or puke a lot." he responded, feeling her stifle a laugh against him. As the two rested, James put his worries aside and instead focused on the here and now, with the girl he loved in his arms and a home he loved as well.

* * *

 **AN: And there we go, not a lot of action this time around but what is there to expect? I didn't have James go with Conner because this was his own personal mission, in the same vain that KF's mission was his own in Coldhearted. It wouldn't feel right if James was there…..well it would but It'd also mess up the story since James would probably throw the shields away and they're a key feature in later episodes.**

 **And as for James joining the league…it may seem Gary Sue-ish but trust me it'll fit more. And that reminds me, Kyle Reyner makes his first appearance. I get that the Guy Gardner joke in the show is great but I did wonder why they never mentioned Kyle, maybe he was dedicated to the GL core and didn't participate in the Justice League or what but I thought it'd be nice to include him. He'll have a part in the story, you'll see.**

 **Anyway this is the last chapter before my next semester starts so the next one might take a while to get out. But until then I hope you enjoyed this one.**


	22. Chapter 22 (Insecurity)

**Insecurities**

 **AN: There's some naughty bits in the start of the story fyi.**

* * *

 **Mount Justice, Rhode Island, December 4** **th** **, 2010, 21:35 p.m.**

The feral hero walked through the woods surrounding the base, his breath was visible in the frosty night air. Making his way through the snow dusted shrubbery he released a sigh through his nose, closing in on the entrance to Mount Justice.

It had been a slow day at Mount Justice, it was a Saturday night so the Team had almost all day to themselves but there were no active missions that Batman had handed them, no unofficial ones that they needed to do. Only to think about Laura's offer, join the Justice League or not? It was the one question that had been on his mind for the past week and he still didn't have a definitive answer for them yet, he had considered talking to the others about it, but he knew their opinions would lean towards him accepting the offer.

He had talked it over with Laura of course but she had remained neutral on the matter, claiming that it was his decision to make and not her's. So, he tried to look at it logically, if he was a part of the League he would get full benefits of being a member like access to the Watchtower, information that he could access at any time he wanted, and recognition…. but he didn't want any of that. But he also didn't dislike any of those perks as well, and as for the negatives there was only one.

Laura had told him Harper was joining the League as well.

 _The guy bitches and whines because he doesn't get what he wants and ends up getting it anyway._ He thought with a tinge of bitterness before taking a deep breath, _ok it's a little harsh but he did dump the League of Shadows at our doorstep first time I met him, didn't take the Team seriously until he asked for help. And let's not forget he's just a plain dick._ he thought to himself as he entered the clearing that led to the hanger. The rock face of the mountain slid up like a garage door and allowed him to enter the base, tracking snow into the hanger as the door shut behind him.

James didn't like Roy, he didn't want to of course. He had heard plenty of stories about his father holding grudges for some stupid reasons and didn't want to be petty like that. In fact, his parents always taught him to never hate someone, but then again, he hated Shingen and was glad that bastard was dead.

Making his way to the elevator, he entered and hit the third-floor button and shut the doors. When they reopened he entered the mission room while Wonder Girl was training against the hard-light holograms the cave's computer projected, he leaned back against the wall and watched as Donna chokeslam one into the floor before she noticed him, "Hey darlin." he greeted with a small smile which she returned.

She stepped out of bounds, ending the simulation, as she approached him and leaned against the wall beside him, she had worked up a sweat from her training and was slightly out of breath. "Let me guess, couldn't find anything to do either?" she asked, he gave a nod. Donna laid her head back against the wall, "You still thinking about the offer?" she guessed, earning another nod from her boyfriend.

"Laura was no help, she told me to figure it out myself." He replied, his arms folding across his chest, "I thought a walk might help me clear my head but…." he shook his head. This shouldn't be that difficult, hell any of his friends would jump at the chance he had so the question was why wouldn't he do it?

James could only shake his head, "I got to give them an answer in a week or so…. until then I'll just have to consider it more." he relinquished, pressing off from the wall and admitting defeat for the time being.

Donna gave her lover a compassionate expression, this had been tearing at him the past few days since he had gotten the offer. And she had to admit that if she was in his shoes she wasn't sure what he would do either, it'd probably be an easier decision if he wasn't the only one from the Team who was given an offer. _Then again, I'm not even sure I'd like to be on a team with Batman._ she joked to herself, _What James needs is something to take his mind off it._ she thought as a sly smile spread across her face.

Donna took James's hand as she walked past him and led him across the mission room, "Ok what are you doing? If you want to spar I'm game but no lasso, you nearly strangled me last time." he said, thinking back to their last sparring session where Donna accidently tightened her lasso too early, the result was the magical rope nearly choking him instead of holding around his arms and chest.

"I just finished training, I'm sweaty." she responded as she led him out of the large room and down one of the halls.

James looked at her with a lack of understanding, "Ok then I'll ask again, where are we going?" he questioned once more.

"The showers, you're going to clean me up." she responded teasingly, James's pace suddenly picked up so that he was at her pace. She glanced over at him, the small smile he had on his face made him almost look smug if not for the ever so light dusting of his cheeks. She felt her own heartbeat pick up as they drew closer and closer to the showers the Team shared.

"You know we could go to your room, it is soundproof and all." he pointed out.

The gleam in the Amazonian's eye sent a shiver down his spine as she pulled on his arm, so they were face to face, "Where's the fun in that?" she asked before entering the locker room with extra sway in her step with her hips fallowing a silent rhythm, James fallowing her inside not a second later after processing what she said. Feeling him approach her from behind she turned and was pressed her palm against his chest to stop him, "Down boy." she teased as she stepped back, James staying in place.

James slipped out of his jacket and tossed it aside before pulling his shirt up over his head as Donna watched, he stopped at the buckle of his pants when he saw she was still clothed, "Going to be hard to shower in clothes." he noted as he unbuckled his belt and slowly approached her. She slowly backed away, her bracers were the first to come off as she unbuckled their straps and lowered her hands, so they slid off, hitting the tiled floor with a 'clink'.

James had never actually seen Donna remove her costume before, so his eyes fallowed her hands as she reached for the silver belt around her waist and unclasped it, separating her outfit into two parts before slipping her fingers underneath the rim of her chest piece. "Enjoying the show?" she teased.

"Taking notes for when I take it off you next time." he replied as he slipped out of his pants and entered the showers along with Donna as her top came off, revealing her bare chest to him. "…. how often do you not wear a bra?" he asked as she tossed the garment past his head. She lifted off the ground and slipped her Greeves off before setting them down.

"I'm from an island that hasn't changed since the time of Greek gods. How often do you think?" she asked as she pulled the last of her clothing off, exposing her bare-naked body to James. His eyes wandered across her sweat covered body, the awkwardness of their first time had long since vanished, Donna was no longer bashful about her body being seen by James, so his eyes roaming her body brought not shame but instead pride and arousal.

She turned around and approached the showerhead directly in view of the doorway, giving James an enticing view of her ass as she turned on the water. The initially cold water caused goosebumps to spread across her skin before it warmed up, James approached her as she tilted her head back and let the water run through her ebony colored hair. James's back pressed against her back whilst his hands slid around her waist to her navel, his face burying in her shoulder with his lips pressing against her skin.

Her soft moan was like sweet music to him, "Clean first." she reminded with a smile, the small bristles of hair around his mouth tickled her skin. James chuckled against her skin before reaching out to the small shelf beside the showerhead and taking the soap off the shelf.

He slowly slid the bar around her stomach, his hand trailed up her toned abdomen and right between the thin valley of her breasts, the amazon sighed blissfully as she felt his other hand brushed to her inner thigh. "Only a bold man would touch an Amazon warrior as you are right now." she teased.

James smirked as his hand with the soap brushed over her tit, "Don't forget who led whom into the showers." he replied as his other hand brushed over the trimmed hair above her clit. The amazon let out a purr at his teasing, "Besides, only a fearless woman would let someone like me touch her like this." he reciprocated, soaping her other breast as he spoke.

Donna's hand reached to his lower one, placing her palm over his hand making James smile at the small gesture before the water rinsed the suds off her front, as his hand holding the soap dropped it and cusped her right breast, his other reached down and slipped a digit inside her. Donna gasped at the small intruder before releasing a moan, "Ja-ah!" she gasped as he slowly buried his finger deeper within her, her silky-smooth walls closing around him in a vice as she began to slide in and out of her, her juices coating his fingers as his movements continued.

She tried to sway her hips to increase the pace but to no avail, all she could do was have her body lean back into James's chest as he added another finger to his ministrations, his fingers still pumping into her slowly, "Fuck." she whispered as she bit into her lip in minor frustration.

"That is the kind of the point isn't it?" James asked cheekily, getting a weak chuckle out of the amazon as his pace started to increase. Her arm reached back behind her and clasped the back of his head for leverage, pulling his face into her shoulder back onto the marks he left.

Donna felt his shaft slide against her cheeks, _Harder than his claws. All thanks to me._ she thought, her heart fluttering at the thought. She suddenly had an epiphany, reaching her empty hand down behind her and wrapped around his shaft and slowly began stroking it. She felt his teeth graze her shoulder as he released a groan, "Not so fun now is it?" she chided before guiding him down between her cheeks. She stiffened as the bulbus head brushed up against her other entrance before nestling his shaft between her thighs and under her lips and slowly gyrated her hips back and forth.

The friction made his grasp on her breast tighten, "Fuck Donna." he growled out as a bit of pre-cum dripped from his head.

Donna smirked to herself before reaching both her arms out to the wall beneath the showerhead and bracing herself against it so that the water hit her hair and shoulders, "That's what I'm waiting for." she replied, looking over her shoulder with a lust filled gaze and a welcoming smirk as he legs spread apart. He throbbed at the sight before him, Donna Troy, Wonder Girl, presenting herself to him in a submissive position.

James knew that submission to another was huge to amazons from what Donna told him, leaning forward he pressed his lips to her back, "I love you." he whispered.

"Show me how much." she replied as he withdrew his fingers from her folds and placed his hands on her hips as he guided his shaft to her dripping entrance. He slid into her folds slowly, drawing a long moan from donna as he placed his hands on her hips for support before rearing back and eased back in.

Donna pushed back into James as he thrust into her, her breathing deepened with as his penetration continued. He added to the power behind his thrusts by pulling her back as she pushed off the wall, "Ngh! Harder…" she desired, craving more pleasure from his cock drilling into her. James obliged, plowing into her with more force and causing the amazon princess to release a lust filled moan that echoed though the showers.

One of her hands left the wall before her and began to fondle her own breast as they swayed back and forth from his strokes, James's fingers dug into her flesh as he held onto her for traction. Donna all but threw herself back onto him with every movement of her hips, her walls clasped snugly around his length as pushed into her and slid out, _She's still tight as before…_

His head delved into her core, sending shockwaves of pleasure though the amazon as she released short breaths and moans. Donna's stimulation of her breast was suddenly added to as one of James's hands slid from her hip to her lower cheeks, letting out a moan as he kneaded her flesh and pulled her back onto his shaft with more strength.

Her head turned back over her shoulder, watching as James plowed into her from behind, he locked eyes with her and slowed his movements before his hands left her hips and ass and slid up her back and gently eased her forward, pressing her up against the wall as one of his hands cupped her right inner thigh and lifted her leg off the ground slightly before completely sheathing himself within her in a single stroke.

Donna's throaty moan only spurred him on, diving into Donna from the new position and reaching new depths to her that only stimulated the both of them in the most sensual of ways. Donna's slickness dripped from her pussy, smearing against her inner thighs and coating his cock as it pistoned in and out of her.

James growled out a swear as Donna tightened herself around him, her palms pushed herself back off the wall and into James with each thrust up into her. His empty hand slipped between her and the wall between her midsection, allowing him to push Donna onto him as his thrusts became faster.

Soon the running water barely covered the sound of their wet flesh slapping against one another and the moans that both lovers made as a result. "Donna I'm- "he gasped before Donna lifted a hand off the wall and reached back around his head, leaning back as she pulled his lips onto her's.

She pulled barely away from his lips, "Cum with me my love." she whispered lustfully.

That burst the dam for James, with a few more powerful thrusts he finally came inside Donna, sending the amazon into her own orgasm as she felt his warm liquid fill her depths. Donna let out a blissful sigh as she achieved her own nirvana. James pulled out of her, their mixed fluids sliding out of her slit as he lowered her foot back down to the ground.

Donna fell back onto James, he lowered the both of them to the floor of the shower so that the water was washing over both of them. The princess let out a small moan as she felt James wrap his arms around her waist and pull her into her chest, "That was…. magnificent." she said happily as she relished in the cascade of warm water bathe them both.

"I was going to say something more along the lines of…. passionate." he said, deciding to choose his wording carefully.

Donna turned her head back and gave him a small smile, their first time was gentle lovemaking, but this time was rougher than before. She cusped James' chin with her thumb and index finger, "I'm not a dainty flower, I'm an Amazonian warrior. I don't mind getting rough sometimes." she elucidated as her thumb brushed over the small bit of hair that was growing across James' chin and stretched out to his jaw and sides. "Besides, I think that adequately took your mind off things." she added.

James smirked before leaning in and kissing her, when he pulled away he spoke, "Your amazing." he complimented, holding his amazon lover close. He looked back to the entrance to the showers, their clothes had been scattered about without care and he really didn't want Donna to get caught naked in the showers with him post sex.

Donna noticed where his sight was focused, "Relax. Kaldur is with Aquaman, M'gann and Conner are out on a date for the night, and Zatanna it is hanging out with Artemis." she reassured as James looked back to her.

"And what about Red Tornado?" he asked, honestly if big red caught them he doubted it would be as bad as one of their teammates, but then again, he didn't want Red to report this to the League.

She shrugged, "I haven't seen him all day, but why would an android come in the showers?" she asked, reaching for the soap James had discarded and then proceed to lather herself with the bar. She slowly lifted off the floor into the air, floating just above the tile floor as she continued washing herself, James looked up and admired the view before she looked over her shoulder at him, "My eyes are up here." she stated.

"And they're still beautiful." he replied, looking up at them as she rolled at his cheesy line before turning her head back to the shower and returning to bathing. His eyes fallowed droplets of water that slid down her muscular back and past her hips, when he saw the water drip off her heel he grew curious. "Why are you floating?" he asked curiously.

The amazon smiled to herself, "Because I can." she replied simply. "Besides, my legs might be a tad numb." she teased shamelessly, causing James' face to warm up. He finally stood from the tile floor behind Donna and took her hair in his hands before running his hands up to her head and gently messaging her scalp, much to Donna's enjoyment. "Ooooh yeah, that's the stuff." she said with satisfaction.

As she washed herself down, she let James have his turn at the shower and let him wash himself as she exited the showers and took a towel from the hangers on the wall outside the showers and dried herself off before wrapping it around her body, gathering up her discarded costume and placing it in her locker and doing the same with James' uniform as he stepped out of the showers.

He listened for a moment to see if anyone was close by or even in the cave at all, thankfully since their HQ was actually a cave it meant that there was a slight echo he could pick up on. When he didn't hear any movement whatsoever or any of his teammates' scents, he focused his attention to Donna and walked over to her as she shut his locker for him. "Even your locker has nothing in it, that's a little sad." she said jokingly, turning to him as he closed in on her and wrapped her arms around his head and pulled his mouth onto her's.

His hands came to a rest on her lower back, he pulled her body against his before breaking their kiss, "So, what to do for the rest of the evening?" he pondered aloud.

The Amazon hummed as she thought, "If I remember right, you said you got a couple B movies we could watch in your room. No better way to spend an evening in than watching a movie." she proposed, making James smile. He had inadvertently turned the amazon into a movie lover since she became a part of the team when he brought several movies with them on her first day to man's world. But out of all the genres she enjoyed watching she loved budget films, or B movies, the most because of their simple charm.

"B movie night in. Alright, I can get behind that." he said as Donna slipped out of his grasp and began walking towards the exit to the showers.

Soon they were in James' room, both of them having discarded the towels and found refuge under the covers of his bedding while the film played in front of them on the television James had set up in his own room, with all the lights off but in their place a few candles had been lit for both lighting and turning the atmosphere in the room to a romantic one.

Donna's nude body laid against his side as she watched the film, James was watching as well but he barely showed genuine interest in the movie and was instead focusing his attention on the Amazon. He then glanced around his room, Donna wasn't wrong when she said he needed to decorate, there wasn't a single thig on the wall, his small bookshelf was filled with colors of browns, greys, and blacks from the spines of the books he had. And if today had taught him anything it was that he needed something to do in his downtime, preferably something time consuming.

"You know I've been thinking…. you don't really have anything in here." Donna began, almost as though she had been reading his mind. "And well…. most nights I either come into your room or you come into mine…why don't you just move into mine?" she suggested nonchalantly.

James cupped his chin as he thought it over, "Well…. We could move my books in yours somewhere and…. well my costumes might take up some space too…" he said aloud. Because of how often his suits were damaged he made it a point to have multiple costumes in his closet for when one gets damaged.

"I only have two outfits, my superhero one and when I go out in public, trust me there is more than enough room for some yellow and black." she told him. "And we could put the bookshelf up against the wall beside the door, I've been looking for something to put there anyway." she added, turning her face over to look at his.

He raised an eye at her, "You've…. you've thought this through, haven't you?" he said, his suspicions confirming with the small smirk she made after. "Well it would be nice having not to go back and forth between rooms…. only thing that's missing is our own shower, kitchen, living room, garage, basement, attic, spare bathroom, and front door and we'd have our own place." he joked.

"I would kill for my own bathroom." Donna replied.

"…. Ok, let's do it." he said with a shrug, watching as she smiled at his acceptance.

She turned back towards the movie, "Great, we can start moving…wait is that a giant worm?" she asked, watching as the creature on screen revealed itself for the first time. "Huh, mini mouths in the mouth. That's original." she said sarcastically, making her boyfriend chuckle at her criticism.

* * *

 **Mount Justice, Rhode Island December 5** **th** **, 2010, 16:20 p.m.**

Moving into Donna's room didn't take much time as they both thought, after deciding where to place everything they easily moved all four boxes of James' belongings from his room down the hall into her's and was currently unpacking them. "I think we wasted four boxes." he said as he took some of his clothes out of a box and set them in the bottom two dresser drawers while Donna hung up his costumes that was stored in another box.

"Yeah but it's either that or we just walk back and forth between rooms for however long it would take." she replied, pulling out another one of his costumes from the box before she noticed something. "James did you change your suit again?" she asked, making James look over to see what she meant. The uniform she held in her hands had the same design as his other ones, however the difference was that instead of black and yellow, the black had been changed to a brown color.

The uniforms James wore, along with the ones that everyone on the Team did, was made by an R&D department of Queen Industries. The materials used to make them wasn't exuberantly expensive, but they did require materials that only the company could produce, such as the stealth mode option. "Must have been an error or something." James guessed as Donna held up the shoulders of the suit parallel to his.

She let out a hum, "I think it looks pretty good on you." she complimented, making James smile as she hung it up. Looking at the other two boxes on the bed she walked over to one. "Alright that's the clothing so what's in- "she stopped when upon opening the box she found a pamphlet, on the cover was a photo of Logan in a traditional Shingu era garb with a beautiful Japanese woman by his side. James noticed her abrupt stop and turned his head to see he pick up the old wedding invitation he had got from Heather.

"Logan and Mariko's wedding invite." he said, snapping Donna out of her trance and looking over at him as he walked over to her. He looked down at the picture and smiled sadly, "Mom gave it to me. That was right after Logan beat Shingen the first time, he freed Mariko and he proposed the day after." he explained as he gently took the card from Donna and looked over it.

The amazon was silent as she watched him, James never really talked about Logan, but she could tell that it was an old wound for him. When he was brought up in conversation she could catch his features become emotionless and hard to read, but she also noticed how he would clench his fist in subdued anger. James took notice of Donna's concerned expression and sighed, "You don't need to walk on eggshells."

"I know." she replied before placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, "And you don't need to keep your feelings to yourself." she replied, James reached his hand back and placed it over Donna's while he turned his head to look back at her troubled face.

His lips pressed firmly together before he finally spoke, "I understand why he left….and honestly I think if I was in his position…" Donna raised an eye at his train of thought, daring him to finish that thought out loud. "If I lost you….and we…. had someone to look after…." he trailed off, causing Donna to frown.

She pulled on his shoulder, so he was facing her, she wasn't angry at him, but she certainly didn't look pleased either, "The difference is we have friends, family that would help you. So you wouldn't." she reminded making him flinch. The amazon stiffened at his display of discomfort before she reminded herself that this a difficult subject for him, she took a breath before speaking again, "Sorry I just-"

"No your right…..look Donna I love you. And because I went through that I'd never do it anyone else." he interrupted before glancing down at the floor, "But I see why Logan did what he did…..but I sure as hell don't like it…I hate it Donna. He's the only family I got left and I've never even met him." he sorrowfully explained before taking a seat down on the bed. The amazon kneeled in front of him with a sad expression, her hand reached out his on his knee, he met her eyes and released a sigh, "If I saw him…..I think I'd try and knock his block off."

Donna's lips twitched to a smile, "Understandable." she replied simply, making James snort as before he smiled as well. "I'm always going to be here for you James. And everyone else on this team." she reassured before kissing him on the lips. The two lovers parted with James touching his forehead against her's in an affectionate way, Donna let out a giggle at the gesture, "Feel better?" she asked.

James smirked, "A little bit." he replied before tilting his head to that he could kiss her properly, Donna smiled against his lips as he leaned into her, trapping her back against the bed.

Their lips parted allowing the Amazon to meet his eyes, "My queen was right, men are a terrible influence." she joked before kissing him again.

"Hey Donna have you-Oh my gosh!" the couple's eyes widened, Donna all but flung James off her into the opposite wall as she sat straight up and snapped her head to the door. Her expression mirrored that of a deer seeing the headlights of the car that was about to run her down. M'gann stood in the doorway with her face scarlet as her hair, "I-um-sorry I just-I mean….James are you ok?" she finally asked, seeing the tracker laying on the floor with the top of his head on the ground and the tips of his feet in front of him.

"Fine….you know aside from a broken neck." he sarcastically said as he rolled his body over to the side so that he was instead sitting against the wall, "What's up M'gann?" he asked casually, Donna and M'gann still looked flustered from what she had been caught doing and had walked in on respectively.

"Well Red Arrow's here, apparently he's joining the team." he said, causing both the two's eyes to widen. Donna looked at James and saw him frown, "I'll just….leave you two alone…together…bye!" she quickly added before leaving and closing the door behind her as James crossed his arms over his chest.

Donna looked over at James, "Didn't you say that Roy was going to join the League as well?" she asked, her boyfriend nodded. The amazon paused as she thought aloud, "Then why would he join the Team now of all….." she trailed off as she frowned, realizing the situation. "He's an example." she stated.

James looked at her questionably, "A what?"

"An example, think about it why else would he join the Team now of all times?" she asked as she got off the bed. As she walked over to the door, James rose off the floor and joined her, "He's joining the Team before the League because it sets a good example, stay on the Team and do as the League says and you can join one day too." Donna said with a bitter tone, "They're treating us like children." she stated.

James grimaced, was that why they wanted him to join the League? _If that's how it is then they can all go to hell. I'm not being used like a trained lapdog._ he thought agitatedly. However as his anger began to gather, he stopped himself in the hall and took a deep breath, Donna stopped when she noticed he had. "Should we tell the others? I mean what if you're wrong and it's a big misunderstanding?" he asked, "Maybe he wants to hang out with his friends before hitting it big?" he proposed. _I can't believe I'm defending Harper here._

The amazon stood and considered that possibility, if she was wrong then not only would she look like a complete fool but she would instantly insult and belittle what Roy has done to get into League. And if she is right then she would shame Roy in front of everyone, that's not who she was she didn't belittle others because she was frustrated, that's not how an Amazon deals with things. She let out a sigh of frustration, "Did we switch roles? I'm the calm and collected one and you're the one with anger issues."

James smiled as he walked and caught up beside her as they continued through he halls of the cave, "Look if that's the way it is? Fine, we'll just break the rules again just to spite them." he said, making Donna chuckle as they entered the mission room while the others members of the team were greeting both Red and Green Arrow.

As the two approached Roy looked over, "Speedy, heard you're staying for a change. That true?" James asked, using his sidekick name to get a rise out of the archer. Red Arrow gave him a slightly irritated look but the tracker quickly adverted his attention to Donna, "Harper this is Donna Tory, Wonder Girl. Donna this is Red Arrow." he said, using Roy's proper code name.

Roy held his hand out to Donna which she shook with a welcoming smile, "Nice to meet you, Robin, Wally and Kaldur have all spoken highly of you….James too but…" she teased, making Roy smile.

He looked over at James who folded his arms over his chest as he looked over at Wonder Girl, "I was wondering who could keep you in line." he said before turning his attention back to Donna as he let go of her hand, "And it's nice to meet you, never fought beside an Amazon before. But from what I hear from Green Arrow it's a sight you got to see to believe." he said, James' eyes narrowed at the flirtatious tone before calming himself.

Before they could continue their conversation however the Zeta Tube spun on, _"Artemis, B08 Artemis."_ the computer announced as the Team's current archer strode in with confidence. Her confidence suddenly vanished upon seeing Red Arrow.

"Artemis, look who's agreed to join the Team." Green Arrow said excitedly, James couldn't help but glare at the emerald archer at his apparent disregard for his current protégée's feelings.

"Finally." Wally added excitedly, obviously happy that his longtime friend was joining the Team.

Artemis stood silently for a second, "Great, team's needed a _real_ archer." she said sharply as she walked forward, ignoring the sudden frown the speedster had from his tone. He didn't mean to imply that, but before he could correct what he meant James spoke.

"We already got one, newbie here's going to need some pointers." The tracker said, tilting his head at Red Arrow, only to receive a glare from Artemis. Her anger making him suddenly feel as he done something wrong.

"Alright people, listen up." the League's archer said as he walked into the center of the room and brought up a holographic keyboard, "the dynamic duo are on a case in Gotham but Batman gave me the head's up." he explained before pulling up a picture that caused Artemis' eyes to widen. "Sportsmaster was spotted coming out of Louis-Armstrong International Airport." he explained.

"In full costume? Nerdy." Zatanna joked.

Green Arrow rolled his eyes beneath his mask, "In street clothes. Facial recognition software picked up the ID. Find out what he's up to." he assigned.

"All of us?" Superboy asked, "Seems like overkill for a shadow job." he said. They had run a few missions like this before when they had to tail someone over a long trek of time, James had actually done these kinds of jobs a number of times before joining the Team with Laura.

"Yeah, we need a smaller Team, more of us there are, the more chance that we could get caught." James said, "Maybe four or five of us max? I'll go, this is my area of expertise." he recommended aloud.

Green Arrow rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "Well…I was thinking the ex-sidekicks, Red Arrow, Kid Flash, and Aqualad. But If you three don't mind." he explained as he looked over to the three. They showed no objections, "Alright then, you four get ready then."

"I want in." Artemis said suddenly, "With M'gann and Robin out, no one's logged more hours in with the Bioship." she justified, trying to show her value to the mission. James gave her a worried look, Artemis had no need to explain her use.

"Artemis…you sure?" Green asked with concern.

"Positive." she said before turning and making her way to the elevator that lead to the hanger. James and Donna shared a look before he walked after the archer, something was clearly bothering her but she wasn't going to share it in front of everyone. James made his way to his and Donna's room where he changed into his costume before joining the others in the hanger where Red Arrow and Aqualad were loading up Wally's bike into the back of the ship.

Climbing into the back of the Bioship he opened the lock that held the bike as the door closed behind them and they took off out of the cave. As James locked the bike down with clamps, Kaldur looked at Roy, "I take it you didn't join the team for the comradery." he said, getting straight to the point as well as making James smirk, glad to see that his leader wasn't blind.

"No, and not to please GA either." He said before looking over at James, "You both don't want to face it so I will, there's a mole on your Team. And suspect number one is Artemis." he stated, making the tracker glare at him. They had dealt with this months ago, and there wasn't much evidence to support the theory now anyway.

James stepped off from the wall and walked past Red Arrow, "Hate to burst your little paranoid bubble, but we did deal with it. I checked with everyone, I can tell when people lie and I went though everyone on the Team. No one is a traitor." he vouched.

"And you think that's enough?" Roy asked before James stepped forward, getting into Roy's personal space.

"Yeah I do, SPEEDY. I trust these people, I've fought beside them, and I'd die for any of them. And If memory serves me right, you abandoned your friends the first chance you got." He shot back, making the crimson archer sneer at him.

"Enough." Kaldur said, his tone sharp as a knife. "I too trust these people, however Red Arrow has as much right to voice his concerns as you or me." he said, looking at James. The feral hero didn't look pleased with it but he nodded nonetheless, "And James is right as well, we have looked into the matter and we come to the conclusion the mole was a lie to try and break the Team apart with discord." he explained to the Archer.

Red Arrow didn't look convinced, "Fine, if you two are convinced, noting I can do to change it. But I'm not taking any chances." he said before he exited the hold of the ship, leaving James and Kaldur.

James looked at his leader displeased, "Look I get you and Red go back, but if he's just here to sling mud at Artemis or anyone else? I don't see why we should keep him on the team." he stated plainly. Kaldur sighed, James' problem with Roy didn't lack merit but Roy was still one of his oldest friends. Wolverine saw that the Atlantean was conflicted, "Look I know Roy is your friend, and he isn't a bad guy but he can be a real asshole….but then again look at who my dad was." he said.

Aqualad smirked as he and James joined the others in the cockpit.

* * *

 **Orleans Parish, Louisiana, December 5** **th** **2010, 21:15**

Upon arriving in New Orleans the team split into two groups, Red Arrow, Kid Flash, and Aqualad would fallow on the ground while Artemis and Wolverine tracked Sportsmaster from above in the ship. However this lead to a long, long, long awkward silence between both James and Artemis that would only be broken between radio check ins with the others on the ground. _God this is boring, this might even be worse than having nothing to do at the cave._ James thought from his seat on the ship.

Artemis was in the pilot's seat while he took up his normal spot near the window, his eyes locked on the bar in the middle of the bayou that Sportsmaster had gone into. He hadn't moved for the past half hour, that told James that he was waiting for someone or something, so far they had run a facial recognition check on all who entered or exited the bar but hadn't come up with anything that warranted intervention.

James looked back as Artemis tapped the orbs that controlled the ship's flight with equal boredom, "So are you wishing you were back at the cave as much as I am or what?" he asked, the archer rolled her eyes with irritation. At this point, James decided to address the elephant in the room, tuning in his seat he looked over at Artemis, "Ok you've been giving me the stink eye ever since you got to the cave. What's up….are you mad at me?" he asked.

Artemis was quiet for a minute before she finally spoke, "My mom told me about when you, Batman, and Green Arrow me, she begged you guys to take me in…..and I'm only on the Team because Red Arrow wasn't available." she said bitterly, not meeting his eyes.

James was stuck speechless, did she really think that they only let her on the Team because…..

"Bullshit." he said plainly, making her look over at him, "Your mom begged because when we told her you were out in costume she thought you were on the other side of the law and we were there to take you away." he explained, making her eyes widen before she slapped her forehead. Her mother tried to explain it to her but she just didn't listen, "And besides I'd rather take you watching my back then Red asshole any day of the week." he added.

Artemis chuckled, "Thanks….means a lot….why'd you think I was mad at you though?" she asked, James' head immediately went to his and Cheshire's tryst.

"Nothing." he replied quickly, making the archer fold her arms over her chest and give him an invasive look. "Well…..remember when Cheshire used me to get leverage off the League of Shadows?" he asked, Artemis's glare intensified as she nodded. "I…..well she kinda made a move on me." he admitted.

"WHAT!?" she yelped, her voice almost cracking from how loud, "Oh my god you and-Oh my god I don't even want to think about that! Ew! Wait does Donna know?" she asked, if the amazon didn't know then she HAD to tell her even if meant James got a bit of beating for keeping that secret.

"Yeah of course! First thing I told her when we got together, I didn't want to get burned again so I didn't really act on my feelings until she did." the tracker explained with some embarrassment at revealing how he felt.

Artemis' hands cupped her face, "I am so sorry."

He waved her off nonchalantly, "It's not your fault. Your not responsible for your family, I mean my dad was a pint sized killing machine who showed little to no remorse for what he did, and my sister was a bred killing machine from age six." he said plainly, causing Artemis to look at him with a quirked brow. He only shrugged, "Hey I got no illusions about my family and me, we're pretty fucked up." he sated, knowing full well that his family's history was bloody to say the least.

The archer shook her head as she smiled, feeling much better now that both James and Wally reassured her that she belonged on her team and even one of them knowing her secret beforehand, _"Sportsmaster is on the move."_ Red Arrow said across the radio, the two instantly looked down at the small dock outside the bar and into a small motorboat that sped through the swampland. _"I'm pursuing target."_ the archer on the ground said as he approached the tall grasses of the marsh where he stashed a jet ski at before pursuing after Sportsmaster. _"Everyone keep your distance. And that goes double for you Artemis. Sportsmaster has been shown to be able to spot Martian camouflage while in motion."_ he said, his tone making both James and Artemis sneer.

"You know Red you can just go-" James started before he noticed Sportsmaster head towards the shoreline, "Hold up…." he interrupted as he saw the enforcer make his way towards a set of train tracks. "Red Arrow, Target is closing on train tracks ahead, possible meetup location, be advised." he said.

 _"_ _Copy. I'm moving in for a closer look."_ Roy radioed back as he got off his jet ski a few meters away from where Sportsmaster parked his boat. Roy disappeared below the trees. James however frowned, he didn't like this, Kaldur fallowed Sportsmaster from the water and didn't want to risk breaking cover in case someone was watching. But Harper was down there with no backup, and if Sportsmaster was meeting someone then there was a chance they'd bring their own backup.

He looked back at Artemis, "Go down and cover Red Arrow, I'll keep watch from the ship." he said, the archer didn't need to be told twice as she opened a hole in the floor while James took the pilot's chair. As she dropped out of the bottom of the ship, he slowly pulled the aircraft back from the tree line to get a better view of the surrounding area. As he observed the area however he noticed a train approaching on the tracks, "Perfect." he bit out sarcastically, he activated his comm, "Artemis, status?" he asked.

When he didn't receive a response however he sneered, "So either our comms don't work or Artemis is busy…do I stay in the ship or go down and help?" he asked himself as he looked down at the tree line. Through a gap in the brush he caught sight of Artemis flip back and fire an arrow. "Well stupid question anyway." he said before activating the hole in the bottom of the ship as he lowered it and jumped out.

Hitting the ground running, he closed in on where Artemis was last seen. Upon running into the clearing, he didn't expect to see Roy pinned down with Cheshire on top of him, _Oh man if Donna saw this?_ he thought before kicking her off the crimson archer, making her drop one of her sai in the process, "Red, quit making out with the ninja chick!" he chastised as he popped his claws at the assassin.

Cheshire made a grin that lived up to her codename, "Aw, what's wrong love? Jealous?" she asked before pulling out her sword.

"Hell no. Turns out the psycho assassin isn't my type….plus they're kinda-" Cheshire attacked as he spoke, however James locked his blades with her's and parried her's up. She leaned back from his momentum and kicked, he counted by grabbing her ankle with one hand and pulling her in so he could elbow her in the face. "-know it all-ish." he added before looking back at Red Arrow, "Go! Me and Artemis got this! Focus on Sportsmaster!" he ordered.

Roy nodded before taking off after the target while Artemis fired another arrow at her sister, Cheshire rolled back onto her feet while James closed in, slicing her sword into pieces with one set of claws while his other fist went for her midsection, she stumbled back as Artemis leapt over James and tried to kick the assassin.

Cheshire grabbed her foot in midair and flipped her upwards before slamming her heel into her back, sending her into James. _"Arrow to Artemis and Wolverine, Sportsmaster gave me and Aqualad the slip. Get a tracker on Cheshire and we'll fallow her."_ the archer explained, making the tracker sigh, he hated when he needed to take a dive.

He dove at Cheshire, she easily fell onto her back and kicked him over her head as Artemis ran over to the dropped sai and lunged at Cheshire, "Get away from him!" she yelled out as she swung the but of the sai down at the assassin. She grabbed her wrist and kicked Artemis away, grabbing her sai out of the air as Kid Flash zoomed in and caught Artemis.

"Are you ok?" he asked with concern as he set her down on her feet.

"Forget me! Cheshire-" she began, looking to where Cheshire last was only to see she had disappeared. "Gone." she finished as James picked himself up off the ground and dusted himself off.

"You know I just realized, we didn't need a tracer. I could just track her." he said as he walked over to Artemis and Wally as she pulled out a GPS device and showed him that the tracer she planted on her sister's sai was transmitting.

The speedster smiled broadly, "You put a tracer on her? Brilliant!" he said, making Artemis' cheeks pinken, "Oh hey, guys are back." Wally said, noticing that Kaldur and Roy walk back onto shore. As he left, James folded his arms over each other and gave the archer a grin.

Her eyes narrowed, "One word. A single word. To anyone, and I will shove an explosive arrow up where the sun doesn't shine." she threatened as she walked past him towards the others, James having picked up on the blush she had from Wally's compliment before fallowing her over to the others.

Looking down at the tracer she then held it up to the others, "Cheshire's heading North." she said.

Roy crossed his arms as he looked over at Aqualad, "Sportsmaster was heading South. Kinda like this mission." he spat out, making James' eyes narrow at him.

Artemis frowned at his tone as well, "Maybe she'll double back, or maybe he will." she suggested.

"Sportsmaster received a attaché case. We needs to learn what it contains." he said before looking over at Artemis and Wolverine, "If either of you had stayed on the Bioship-"

The tracker raised his hand, "That was my call Kaldur, Roy was down here alone and I didn't like it. I asked Artemis to go down and watch his back just in case. I came down without thinking….that's on me." he stated responsibly. Looking back he should have radioed Kid Flash to help Artemis while he track Sportsmaster from above.

"I didn't need _her_ help. You should have radioed me first." Red Arrow said, James and Artemis both giving him a displeased look.

"And if she located you by hacking our coms?" she retorted. James rubbed the back of his neck, he'd be lying if he said that he was used to not having telepathic communication with the others. Artemis tossed Red Arrow the GPS, "Here, since obviously I can't be trusted. You find Cheshire." she spat out bitterly. As she walked off, James and Kid Flash gave Roy fuming look, the later walking over and snatching the tracker to try and convince Artemis to come with them.

"Ok Harper I've about had it with you being a asshole." The tracker said as he pointed at the archer, Roy opened his mouth to speak, "I swear to Christ on a stick if you say the word mole in the next sentence-"

"James. Stop. Now." Kaldur said, making the tacker stop what he was about to say, Aqualad looked at him evenly, the Atlantean pointed after Artemis, "Go with Artemis, see if you can't track Sportsmaster. We'll go after Cheshire and update you as we go." he said calmingly, Wolverine took it as a hint to fallow his example and calm down. As James left, Kaldur turned his attention to Roy, "Let me be clear, while his wording is crude is point is clear, you have done nothing but antagonize Artemis since this mission began. It stops now, understood?" he asked.

The archer frowned but nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile Wolverine caught up with Artemis as she fallowed the approached the Bioship, "You ok?" he asked.

"Peachey she said as she continued North, James however stopped as he caught Cheshire's scent. When she noticed him not fallowing her, she looked back curiously, "What?" she asked testily.

"You said Cheshire was heading North? Her scent points South." he said, pointing the opposite direction and making the archer's eyes widen before letting out a growl of frustration. "If we head out now we might catch up to her, fallow me in the ship!" he said before taking off into the swamplands while Artemis entered the ship by one of the repel lines.

 _Didn't hear any speedboats or anything after our fight, she must be on foot._ he thought as he ran thought he brush of the bayou. James could track across any type of terrain, he'd have Cheshire's location by the end of the night.

* * *

 **New Orleans, December 5** **th** **2010, 22:18 pm.**

Tracking Cheshire through the city was made easy due to the smell of the swamp lingering off her just as it did him. As he walked out from a dark alley, he saw the warehouse that her trace had led him to, retreating into the space between buildings, he managed to climb his way up onto the roof before leaping across onto the ledge of the warehouse along with Artemis.

He took a whiff of the air, "Sportsmaster is here, *sniff* *sniff*, and your sister….I can hear something going on inside but I can't make out what." he said as they made their way over the roof. Raising his hand to his ear, he hit his com only to get static, "Shit, coms are jammed." he cursed. He looked further down the roof where a skylight was located, he looked over at Artemis, "Fuck it." he decided, the blonde nodding with a smirk.

He opened the window and dropped inside with Artemis' back to his, as soon as James inhaled he drew his claws out. In front of him, Cheshire walked out from the shadows, "Found that tracer on my sai. Surprised you two got here so soon given I tossed it on the train as it passed." she said before holding up a tablet with a live feed to the door outside, "It went so well with the one Red Arrow gave you." she said slyly, Artemis looked over her shoulder where on her quiver was a matching tracer that was red. On the screen was Red Arrow preparing to breech the door, "Someone on your team doesn't trust you." she added in a sing-song voice as the video zoomed out to show Sportsmaster on the ledge above with a javelin prepped to impale Roy with.

Artemis reacted quickly as she drew and explosive arrow from her stash and firing it at the door, blowing Red Arrow out of the way of Sportsmaster's javelin as Wolverine lunged at Cheshire.

She dropped the tablet and pulled out her sai, blocking his strikes as he drove her back against a parade float. He plunged his claws at her shoulder, she barely dodged it before slashing across the float at her, his claws grazed her shoulder, making her let out a hiss. "Your new girlfriend like it rough like that?" she asked before going on the attack, Wolverine raised his forearms and let the blades sink into his flesh before twisting his arms and opening Cheshire for a headbutt.

"Nah. She's classy." he replied before Cheshire tossed an explosive ball at the tracker, sending him through another float, causing it to fall on top of him. _Ngh, and if she saw me right now she'd saw that's what I get for chatting._ he thought as he felt one of the wooden supports imbedded though the side of his neck. _Oh that'll be a bleeder._ he thought as he used all his strength to push the debris off him. he felt his back and leg muscles begin to tear from the strain but his adrenaline dulled the pain.

Tossing remains if the float off him, he looked around and saw Red Arrow in combat with Sportsmaster and Artemis pinned by Cheshire before Kid Flash arrived and elbowed her off their archer. As he was about to join the fight however, a flash of red light form the side room caught his attention. "Artemis! With me!" he gargled out before ripping the wood from his neck and running towards the room.

She looked over at Wally who gave her a nod before engaging in combat with Cheshire, Wolverine went through he door to the room like a battering ram with Artemis right behind him. Inside the room was the unlikeliest of groups, Kalrion had seemingly reformed his essence since his last confrontation with James, and Ivo whom had been imprisoned, along with the Brain and the Gorilla he had as a partner.

"Well look what we have here. Tell you what give up now, and Kalriaon can keep his shape and Brain's pet can keep all it's limbs." Wolverine growled out as he claws let out their signature sound and Artemis Drew a concussive arrow. In truth, James didn't think they had a chance but if they could hold out until some backup arrived then they could get all these guys in one go.

The embodiment of chaos smirked, "Usually they just tell us to **Freeze**." he said simply, the word having an echo like one of Zatanna's spells before the for gathered turned into ice statues and promptly crumbled to bits.

The two stared in disbelief before James said a single word, "FUCK!"

* * *

 **Mount Justice Rohde Island, December 6** **th** **2010, 3:21 am.**

"Let me be clear. We failed." Aqualad said bluntly to the team along with Red Tornado, "Though the Injustice League is in custody, their allies still scheme. And we have learned nothing of their plans." he explained.

Red Arrow folded his arms over his chest, "Gee. I wonder why." he asked sarcastically while looking over to Artemis. James meanwhile gave him a mean sneer, Donna looked between the two with a sense of impending doom approaching.

"Hey! Who found out that Sportsmaster is working with Brain, Kalrion and Ivo?" she shot back in anger while pointing at him.

"Yeah great intel. Except Ivo's been in Belle Reave the whole time! And the guards just checked, it's the real Ivo, not a robot." he said, throwing doubt onto Artemis' claim.

James took a step forward, "Hey genius I saw them too, I'm saying we know how but we know who they were and more importantly that these guys are working together." he defended as his sneer turned into a glare that would make most people scared. "I've had to listen to you blame Artemis all damn night even after she saved your ungrateful ass from Sportsmaster!"

"Yeah I'm getting sick of you ragging on her." Wally added, taking James and Artemis' side.

Roy continued to frown, "Now without reason." James heard Artemis inhale a sharp breath. His hands clenched into fists. Conner took a step forward and put a hand on James' shoulder, silently urging him to calm down. Either James didn't register him or simply was too far gone to care.

 _Ooooooh this is going to be bad._ Donna thought as she along with M'gann and Zatanna took a step inward in case things went south.

However they were surprised when James scoffed, "Only person on this Team with trust issues is you." he said, holding up the tracer that was on Artemis' quiver. "You planted this on Artemis and tracked us to the warehouse." he revealed, causing the other's eyes to widen.

Wally however seemed the most betrayed by this, "Are you serious?" he asked, "Artemis saved my life before we even met, she's saved all our lives when the Reds…um no offense Red Tornado, showed up and tried to kill us." he proclaimed to his friend. "Are you that so mistrusting? Are you that arrogant!?" he asked, Red Arrow however remined quiet. The speedster took the tracer from James, "I thought about grabbing Cheshire's sai but this….This is the right souvenir for the mission." he spat out.

Roy shook his head, "I'm not arrogant! I just know that-"

"Sportsmaster is my dad." Artemis said suddenly, beating Roy to the punch as she dropped this bombshell. Everyone, James included looked at her as her head tilted down at the floor, her arm reaching across her chest to her other. "That's why he doesn't trust me…..and honestly….I wouldn't either." she said before briskly walking to the Zeta tube.

Kid Flash was the first to snap out of the trance, "Artemis…." he said as she Zeta beamed away.

Roy took a deep breath before speaking, "Look….I know that your all-"

James felt his hand move and his knuckles connect with Roy's nose before he realized he even turned around. When he finally realigned himself he saw Red Arrow holding his now bloodied nose and Superboy and Red Tornado standing between them. But James felt no regret, "You're a fucking asshole Harper," he growled off before stomping away.

As he left, Roy withdrew his hand from his face before looking at Kaldur, "Aren't you going to stop him!?" he asked.

"He WILL be reprimanded for his actions, harshly." the Atlantean stated before turning his attention to Roy, "But you had no business tracking Artemis, or pressuring her into revealing something she clearly was not ready to." he added, making the archer's eyes widen.

"Your taking his side!?" he proclaimed as Red Tornado helped him up onto his feet.

"No. But your both at fault, but James is the only one of you who sees it." he stated before walking after James to have a word with him.

* * *

 **Gotham City, December 6** **th** **2010, 07:42 a.m.**

Artemis didn't get any sleep last night, between her revealing her family history to the Team and her father waiting for her in her room when she got home, she was too awake on nerves and adrenaline to sleep. However after just hours of lying in bed she could finally feel sleep begin to take her in his embrace….that was until she heard a tapping on her window.

She turned her head over in bed and her eyes shot wide open when she saw Donna floating outside her bedroom window. Hopping out of bed she ran to the window and opened it, "What are you doing here?!" she asked in a slight panic, hoping that none of her neighbors saw a girl floating in midair outside her apartment.

Donna entered her room, "I wanted to check up on you after what happened last night…..you haven't slept at all have you?" she asked with concern at the sight of her friend's tired eyes. She suddenly felt that she was intruding, "If you want, I'll leave I just…..I wanted to make sure your ok." she explained.

The blonde teen sighed, crossing her arms as she sat down on her bed, "I'm….processing…I'm sorry for lying."

She didn't know why she was apologizing but it was the first thing to come to her mind, "Artemis you have nothing to be sorry for….you would have told us when you were ready." Donna reassured, causing the archer to smile for the first time in hours. Of course Donna Troy would be this supportive of her. Donna took a seat on the bed across from Artemis, the old mattress squeaking under her weight.

"Is that how everyone feels?" she asked.

The amazon nodded, "We all agree that you have nothing to worry about, your still our teammate. And more importantly our friend…..except Roy." she said, her voice almost chuckling. Artemis raised an eye at her tone, "Well after you left…James lost his temper and broke Roy's nose."

Artemis had to cover her mouth to muffle the silence that came out, when she found the power to make noise again she let out a chuckle, "Oh my god I wish I stuck around to watch." the thought alone brought a smile to her face but to actually witness it happen would be cathartic incarnate.

Donna grinned, "Well it's a good thing I brought you a copy of the security footage." she said, fishing into her pants and pulling out a jump drive that Donna stared at like a piece of art. Donna tossed it across the room to her. "James got in trouble of course, no missions until Kaldur says otherwise. His exact response was, 'It was worth it.'." she further explained.

"Tell him I'm sorry….I'd do it myself but I need some serious sleep." she admitted, Donna stood from the bed and walked over, wrapping Artemis up in a hug before she could protest. She weakly returned it, "Donna…..thank you."

The Amazonian smiled kindly as she pulled away, "Anytime….between you and me? Roy's lucky it was James and not me who slugged him." she said, causing them both to burst in a fit of laughter.

* * *

 **AN: As Eddie Murphy once said.**

 **I LLLLLLLIIIIIIIIIIIVVVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEE!**

 **I'm going to keep this short because it's 1:20 am where I'm at and I'm tired as hell.**

 **James and Artemis' coms where jammed because of Kalrion's magic and Ivo's tech mixing together, they were pretty much done by the time that Roy showed up.**

 **Donna figured out what the deal with Roy was because it's a tactic that's used sometimes in military (I think) so I think she'd be able to see though it like Kaldur did.**

 **No there won't be any more X-men or other marvel characters in this so please, don't ask. I know it sounds cool but trust me, it takes away from the story.**

 **I will have a chapter to cover Christmas.**

 **And if anyone is wondering, the movie that James and Donna where watching was Tremors, with Kevin Bacon…seriously it's a good movie, one of my personal favs even if it's totally a B movie.**

 **Now goodnight.**


	23. Chapter 23 (Origin)

**Origin**

 **Mount Justice Rhode Island, December 22nd 2010, 08:46 a.m.**

For once, James was more than happy that he was benched for a mission. After learning that Robin was leading the team undercover at a circus as a troupe of performers, James was all too happy to be benched. What made this better was that Donna wasn't needed on the mission as well since Superboy was sufficient for the strongman portion of their act. However they both were willing to be on radio support from the cave if they needed anything looked into from their end, "You know we should have someone on standby here for computer support every time we're on mission." James said as he looked over the circus route through Europe on the holo screen while Wonder Girl trained against hard light enemies.

She blocked a kick aimed at her center and spun around the leg before slamming her elbow into the enemies' head, "It would be nice to have some backup from here-" she started before dropping down to the side of her leg and swiping her other out and knocking another fake enemy down. "-plus Robin won't always be there for tech support." she added as the training program ended and walked over to the other side of the screen in front of James before he closed the program and smiled at her.

"We could stick Speedy on it." He proposed jokingly, Donna rolled her eyes at his humor. After he hit Roy, Aqualad told him he was benched until he and Roy worked out their differences, however since the Justice League inauguration was next week, James saw it as just a suspension until Red Arrow left the team for the League.

Speaking of the fallout from Roy, Artemis came in the day after she and Donna spoke and told everyone the full story of her family. Her mother being the ex-villain Huntress, her father being Sportsmaster, and Cheshire being her sister. But she was accepted with welcome arms from everyone, led by Wally of al people.

"Be nice." The amazon chastised lightly, "I still can't believe you broke his nose." she said with a small smirk pulling at her lip.

James shrugged, "Hey you talk shit about my friends, I beat the shit out of you. Plain and simple." he said nonchalantly as he and Donna walked out of the mission room and headed towards the lounge.

Donna rolled her eyes with bemusement at the simple logic, "That's flattering." she replied as they entered the longue where Wally was currently watching TV. The room had been decorated lightly with Christmas trinkets and other small decorations for the impending holiday, Donna found the story behind Christmas's origin somewhat confusing but accepted the meaning of the holiday regardless. "Hey Wally, I'm surprised that you're here and not at home." she said as she took a seat on the couch beside the one Kid Flash was laying on.

The table in the middle of lounge had a small tree on it that M'gann had gotten with decorations for it, she had easily set it up with her telekinesis, as well as a pair of ceramic snowmen on either side of it. There was also a large green fern surrounding the rim with lights.

"Yeah, mom and dad told me to go keep myself busy while they wrap presents." Wally explained as he flipped through channels while Donna gave him a curious look.

"They told you that they were warping presents?" she asked.

The speedster shrugged, "They told me not to come into their room so yeah. Pretty sure they're wrapping presents." he said confidently. James opened his mouth to suggest another possibility but Donna's quick elbow to his side made him keep his mouth shut, "So what are you two lovebirds doing for Christmas?" the speedster asked curiously.

James glanced over at Donna, "Well I'll probably come up with something romantic." he said, causing Donna to give him an skeptical look. "What?"

"Your lying. You already have something planned." She stated bluntly, making both James and Wally look her way. When she noticed them staring at her, "I don't need a lasso of truth to tell when he's lying." she said, thumbing her boyfriend who looked offended from her accusation. "He's also bad with faking shock." she added with knowing smirk.

Wally snickered until James sent a glare at him from across the room, "I'm uhh…..bye." he said before zooming off the couch and out of the lounge, leaving the two lovers alone in the room.

The tracker looked over at his girlfriend, the amazon's simple smirk made him both a little perturbed and bashful, "I wanted it to be a surprise." he said dejectedly as he folded his arms across his chest. He had been thinking of what to give Donna for the holidays for weeks now and he wanted it to be a complete surprise but now that she knew it was hopeless to try and deny it.

Donna slid over on the couch and planted a small kiss on his cheeks, "James I don't care whatever you get me." she said before realizing how that sounded, "No! I mean…..you're….you don't…." she tried to correctly convey what she meant, but when she noticed James trying not to smile she pushed him playfully, "Oh you know what I mean." she finally said, realizing he knew what she meant.

The berserker sighed, "Donna…..my gift is…..I'm going to find your family." he revealed, causing the Amazon's head to turn to him so fast it looked like she gave herself whiplash. Her eyes were wider than he'd ever seen before, "I….family is important…I know that now more than ever….and I want you to have that before…." he trailed off as Donna's expression saddened.

She brought her legs up onto the couch and hugged them close to her chest, looking down over her knees to the floor like she was looking over a cliff, "I've tried looking for them, first time Diana brought me here it was the first thing we did….but we didn't find anything." she explained sadly.

"No offense to Wonder Woman but Donna, I'm a tracker. I've found people who've been hiding out or been lost for years." he explained, however the amazon didn't looked convicted in the slightest. James was not deterred however, "Look, if we find nothing then no harm right?" he suggested. "Besides worst case scenario? You're the great, great, great, granddaughter to Attila the Hun." he chided, causing Donna to let out a snort of amusement.

"…Ok, fine." she relented before letting go of her legs and letting them fall to the ground. "So where do you want to start?"

"Well start from the beginning, what do you remember?" he asked, she had told him about how Diana had rescued her from a fire but other than that Donna had been fairly vague about what exactly happened to her.

"About enough as you would expect a baby to remember." she replied exasperatedly, "I mean I remember my eyes being watery from the smoke, the heat of the flames but what I remember most clearly is Diana." she explained as she shut her eyes. "Somehow through the smoke I saw her lasso glowing at her hip through the darkness and I remember….nothing, next thing I remember is waking up on Themyscira." she explained sadly.

James cupped his chin in contemplation, "Well it's better then nothing….where was the building?" he asked as Donna stood up.

"I'll show you when we get there."

* * *

 **New York City, December 22nd 2010, 13:26 p.m.**

James pulled on the break to his bike as he approached a red stoplight, he felt Donna's weight behind him push against his back. She looked over his shoulder, "You know I could just fly us there." she offered before turning right at the stop and through the falling snow. After giving monitor duty to Wally the couple departed on his bike to New York, Donna was giving him directions to the site where the apartment building had burned down.

"First off, I've spent every moment of free time to tune up this bike and I haven't taken it out in a while. Secondly, I really don't mind having a beautiful amazon warrior press herself against me. And third…..I don't like being carried." he finished quietly, Donna chuckling to herself at the last comment as they passed a sedan and fallowing a roundabout.

She pressed herself into him more as she smirked, "Oh I know why you like reason two. But Conner carries you whenever you do your fastball move." she pointed out before noticing a street sign ahead, "Right up ahead." she directed. James fallowed her instruction and turned down the street, past an apartment complex there was an fenced off area where the remains of a building was, the bike pulled to a stop and the two got off it and stood before the site.

The chain link fence had a 'condemned' sign facing the sidewalk with no visible gate, James saw this as no obstacle as he popped his claws and sliced a hole in the metal and walked through while Donna lifted off the ground and floated over the barrier. She looked around the ruins of the building, a few brick walls still stood on the ground floor with large T beams sticking out of the ground, "I feel like I'm in an animal carcass." she said aloud as she walked though the ruins with James. "….what do you expect to find? It's been years since the fire." she asked.

James took a whiff of the air and turned toward a pile of rubble, "Well not much at first but….." he trailed off as he knelled in front of a pile of bricks and mortars, "Donna I smell your scent."

"That's flattering James." she replied with a roll of her eyes.

He shook his head, "No Donna, I mean I smell your scent under this pile of rubble." he explained as he tossed a piece of drywall off the pile. Donna's eyes widened and flew over and grabbed a large chunk of the rubble and tossed it aside, as she was about shovel another portion of the pile off before James held his arm in front of her, "Easy!" he said before pointing to a small gift box that was worn by time, opening he lid to the box, he reached inside and pulled out it's contents.

A doll, one that you would give a child. It had red yarn for curly hair and white torn dress with dirty pink polka dots. It looked like something Donna would never own but the scent it held was identical to Donna's, turning around her presented his findings to her. The amazon felt like a train had rammed into her heart at the sight of the doll, "Oh my god…" she whispered as she slowly reached out and took it from James' hand. "I…..I remember this….I used to play with it all the time when…..oh my god…."

She felt James wrap an comforting arm around her as she inspected the small plaything, "I can't believe it….you actually found something…." she said in disbelief. James' hand ran over her shoulder. She turned the toy over in her hands before noticing something on the leg of the doll. Pulling the skirt of the doll up she saw writing imprinted on the fabric, "To Donna from Uncle Max of Mystic Mt. Newport News….and address?" she asked aloud as James looked at the doll. "Maybe…" she pondered before tapping the comm in his ear, "Hey KF, you there?" she asked as James continued to inspect the doll for any other clues.

 _"Yeah I'm here. What do you need?"_ he asked.

"Could you do a quick search for a Mystic Mountain and Newport News?" she asked.

She could almost see Wally's confused look at her request, _"Um…sure? Give me a second."_ he said, a minute passed before he spoke, _"Yeah it's a toyshop in Newport Oregon."_ he said, making her eyes widen. How the hell did she get a doll from halfway across the country?

"Thanks Wally." Donna thanked before turning to James, "Next stop is Newport. Closest Zeta beam there is to Seattle isn't it?" she asked, James giving her a nod as he focused on her toy. She noticed his fixed gaze, "What is it?"

He rubbed the back of his head, "It's just…..this fire was over a decade ago. But this doll? It doesn't look that old….I mean it's old fashioned but the letters should be faded." he explained. Donna re-examined the doll, he was right with his observation, the toy might have been old fashioned but it's wear wasn't that of something that had been in a box for nearly a decade.

"Well the box would protect it from the elements wouldn't it?" she asked as they made their way out of the building's remains and through the fence.

James shrugged before getting back on his bike, "True…guess we're lucky is all." he said before Donna climbed on behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist as he put his helmet on, "Helmet." he stated, his girlfriend sighed before putting on the only spare helmet they had…..a pink one with hearts on the sides.

"This is too girly." She muttered, "And I swear to the Greek gods above and below, you better keep that snide comment to yourself." she added, knowing full well that he was about to say something to slightly irritate her.

James was quiet but still smiled beneath his helmet as he drove off on his motorcycle towards the nearest Zeta Tube location.

* * *

 **Oregon, December 22nd 2010, 19:21 p.m.**

Donna and James had been traveling for the better part of the day, taking the Zeta Tube from Seattle, they drove South and finally crossed the boarder to Oregon from Washington. Donna was grateful that James drove, his body shielding her from the cold winds that felt like cuts along her skin, her hands went from around his waist to into his jacket pockets for whatever protection from the cold they provided. When a roadside motel came into view, James pulled into the parking lot and got off the bike with Donna, "You ok if we rest here for the night?" he asked.

Donna pulled her hands from his pockets and rubbed them together to try and warm them up, he reached his hands out and clasped them around hers. His were warm to the touch, much to the amazon's relief, "Definitely. Besides I'm starting to get a little hungry." she admitted as James blew his breath onto her hands, warming both her hands and face at the same time.

As James went to the manager of the motel, Donna found shelter underneath the stairwell. Deciding to use the moment of privacy for some use, she pressed her comm, "Diana, it's Donna, are you there?" she asked.

 _"I'm here sister, is something wrong?"_ the heroine asked across the line.

Donna shook her head, "No, actually I have some good news…..Diana I found something about my parents…I think." she said hopefully. She knew that the odds of her and James finding her family were not favorable to them but with the progress made she couldn't help but feel she had a good chance of finally getting some answers, tempered as her expectations were.

 _"What!? How?"_ Diana asked in disbelief.

"We went to the building and we found a doll there, James matched my scent to it and it lead us to a Toy Store in Newport." Donna explained before sighing, "I know that the chances of us actually finding anything is slim but…..if I don't get an answer then….." she trailed off.

 _"…..I understand Donna…..before you go there, could we meet? We should talk face to face."_ her mentor suggested.

 _Oh yeah I'll just tell you that me and my boyfriend are crashing at a motel in the middle of nowhere, she'll take that very well._ Donna thought to herself sarcastically, "Me and James should get there by Tomorrow…..could you meet me then?" she suggested.

 _"Sure….Donna…..I'm glad you found something."_ she added before hanging up. The young Amazon smiled at her mentor's concern before James walked around the corner with a key in hand. "Let me guess, they only had the honeymoon suite?" she asked jokingly as she fallowed him along the sidewalk to the rented room.

"No but the owner did mention a nice place to get breakfast down the road." James countered as he stopped at the door, unlocking the room he pulled the heavy door open and entered their room for the evening. It was fairly simple, a double bed pressed against the left wall with a tv facing the end of it, further into the room was a small fridge in the corner beside a closet. Against the back wall was the door leading to the bathroom, "Homey." he said as he walked over to the bed and laid down.

Donna looked around the room with a pleased face, "Got to admit, from what I've seen in movies I expected this kind of place to be….well not this clean." she explained as she kicked her boots off by the door before strolling past James towards the bathroom. A nice warm shower after a full day out in the cold, as she disrobed however she couldn't stop thinking about all that transpired in the past day, she had concrete evidence that could lead her to her family.

 _All because of James._ she thought with a smile before opening the door to the shower and turned the shower on. As she washed herself she listened for James, ever sine their escapade in the showers at Mount Justice they actually begun sharing showers together. He'd run his hands through her hair, she would wash his back and trace small shapes against the canvas of skin and listen to him softly moan at her touch.

As her mind began to picture them however she heard bare feet patter outside the shower door, "There's enough room in here for two." she invited as she pulled her hair over her shoulder. A moment later the door opened and James slipped inside behind her. She looked back and smirked at him as he pulled her back into him, "It's weird having a place to ourselves." she said.

"Weird that we might not get caught in the showers like last week?" he asked, making Donna remember that Zatanna almost caught them together in the showers if James hadn't had spoken up and stopped her before entering. She sent a harmless look at him, "I'm just saying, be a little deviant all you want just try not to get caught." he jested.

"Deviant!" she asked ridiculously, "How am I a deviant?" she asked for a explanation.

"Well your in a motel in the middle of nowhere with your boyfriend." He pointed out as his hand ran up her back and settled on her shoulders before he began a small message, "You led your boyfriend into the showers, shamelessly I might add." he added, making Donna snort as his ministrations continued.

"And if you were a gentleman you wouldn't have accepted." She countered. James pinched her skin teasingly, "Fine, I'm a deviant. But I had a bad influence." she excused before turning around and wrapping her arms around James' neck, bringing him into a kiss. Pulling away she rested her forehead against his, the gesture was a subtle one they shared but carried much weight to it. It was similar to how animals showed affection, she remembered when James abruptly did it to her one day when they were out together in the forest surrounding Mount Justice.

"I called Diana and told her what we found, she wants to meet me in Newport tomorrow." she revealed. James seemed to take that in for a second, Donna noticed the look of contemplation he gained. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing…you didn't mention that we were staying-"

"No of course not. She knows we're dating but not…..cuddling." she said, making James release a breath and Donna roll her eyes at his reaction, "Oh please she'd have to go through me if she wanted a shot at you." she reassured. His lips found hers though the water, Donna shut her eyes as they kissed.

Yeah, Diana would kill them if she knew.

* * *

 **Newport Oregon, December 23rd 2010, 10:20 a.m.**

While Donna flew off to meet Diana outside of town, James drove through the portside town in search of the toyshop that the doll originated from. _This is would go a lot faster if I had someone helping me search from he sky._ he thought as he turned down the road. _Still though….something about this stinks…I'm not Batman or Robin but I can tell when there's something going on._ he thought as he pulled to a stop behind a car. He didn't mean that he thought Donna was lying, he trusted her more than anyone, but it was the doll itself that was bothering him.

 _I'm just being paranoid….oh hey!_ he thought as he saw a storefront named Mystic Mountain, parking outside the store he turned off his bike and dismounted it before approaching the store and entering. The shop wasn't that busy, about half a dozen or so customers were walking about, picking a toy or gift out for a friend or family member, walking up to the counter the young woman at the register looked up at greeted him, "Hello, how may I help you?" she asked.

James pulled out the doll, "I hope so, it's a little complicated but see my girlfriend found this old doll and it came from here. Is there anyone here who can tell me more about it? I'm trying to track down who bought it so we can return it." he explained as he presented the doll to the girl, his story seeming believable enough.

She inspected it with a curious look, "We stopped making stuff ourselves last year but I think I might know someone who might know. Could you wait here a second?" she asked politely, James nodding in acceptance as she disappeared into the back of the store, leaving him at the counter as a mother and her son walked up to the register next to him.

As the mother placed her items at the register the little boy looked up at James, feeling the eyes on him the tracker glanced down at the boy. The child looked down at the toy in his hands that he had gotten from the bargain bin, a old Wolverine toy. Complete with yellow and blue costume and plastic claws, James couldn't stop the smirk on his face as the boy looked between him and the toy like he could tell the family resemblance. When he was sure the mother wasn't looking he gestured down at his hand with his eyes.

The boy looked down and watched as James unsheathed his claws quiet as could be without drawing attention. The kid's jaw dropped as James sheathed his claws, bringing the hand up to lips where he made a hushing gesture with his finger. The boy nodded excitedly as his mother took the toy he had and paid for it. As they left the boy waved goodbye which James did as well before he turned his attention to the counter where the cashier had returned with a elderly man, "You're the one who brought in this doll?" he asked.

James nodded, making the man look down sadly at the doll, "I repaired a bunch of toys like this. This one about two years ago" he said as he handed the toy back to the tracker. "Mrs. Cassidy of Willowbrook orphanage used to bring me all these damaged dolls and toys, I'd repair them free of charge." he explained, making the young man smile.

James felt his world grind to a halt, "Two years ago?" he repeated, the man nodded in confirmation. The math didn't add up, that doll definitely belonged to Donna but she lost that thing when she was an infant so unless she was a child that didn't make any sense whatsoever. "Um….is there anyone around who used to work there by chance?" he asked, the man rubbing his chin as he contemplated.

"Well there was Elmira, she worked there when the place closed down and took care of most of the cases. Poor girl didn't even know what that lawyer was up to. See there was this Child Slavery scandal that closed the place down, Elmira didn't have a clue to what was going on." he said sadly, James frowning at his expression. The thought of someone exploiting kids, possibly newborns, for profit…..he'd be sure to look up the lawyer's name later, maybe pay him a visit. But now he needed to focus, thanking the man for his information he made his way out to his bike where he tapped his comm.

"Donna, Donna are you there?" he asked, he was met only with silence before realizing that she was with Wonder Woman. "Mother-" he cut himself off as he pulled his helmet down over his head and revved the engine loudly before driving off.

* * *

 **Outside Newport Oregon, December 23rd 2010, 10:30 a.m.**

Donna stared at Diana in complete shock from what her mentor had informed her of, "Two years…..but…..but…no! No I remember when I was eight and snuck out of my room after curfew to go watch the others train….." she said in a devastated whisper as she back up against a tree trunk. Diana looked sorrowfully at Donna, the girl she had seen as a younger sister for the past few years, the amazon slid to the bas of the tree as her hands tangled her hair. She felt like her world had spun out of control, "Why? Why the hell would you-" she spat out at her mentor enraged before they both heard a bike approach them.

James pulled to a stop fast enough to almost cause him to go flying off his seat, his bike fell over as he ran over to the two while he tossed his helmet off. "Ok lady! You got a bunch of answers I want and-" he began before noticing the tears rolling down Donna's face. Whatever he was going to say died in his throat as he rushed over to her side. She covered her mouth to muffle a sob, his hand cupped the side of her face and she leaned against it in a search for comfort.

He looked at Wonder Woman with the most spiteful look as his eyes turned red, his inner berserker working in tandem with his more rational mind. "What did you do." he snarled out as he stood up. At the moment he didn't care that it was Wonder Woman, founding member of the Justice League and technically one of his bosses, or Diana of the Amazons, ambassador to man's world. All that he focused on was that she hurt Donna, however the only thing that calmed him was Donna's gentle touch against his hand.

Looking down he saw his lover wipe the tears from her eyes and force herself to stand before looking at Diana, "How?" she asked simply.

The older amazon sighed, "When I rescued you from the fire at that apartment I searched for your parents but no one came forward. I decided that for now the best course of action was to leave you on the island in care of my sisters until I found them." she explained before she crossed her arms over her abdomen. "When I returned a few weeks later I found out that you had been taken by one of my enemies, Circe." she explained, Donna going rigid at the revelation.

"Wait, Circe? Like….from the Odyssey? By Homer?" James asked in disbelief as he held his hands up to halt the conversation for the moment. "Isn't she the one who turned the crew of the ship into pigs?" he asked.

Wonder Woman nodded, "The very same. Circe is a powerful sorceress and a enemy to the amazons…..she took you in the hopes of making a champion strong enough to defeat me. She used magic to age you into your prime, but before she could fill your head with her personal will I stopped her." she looked down in shame. "We had no idea of how to return you to normal…..and in the state you were in….you were a blank slate Donna, made to be used like a weapon…..so me and the other Amazons gave you memories, some of them mine but ones that you came up with yourself." she explained, not daring to meet Donna's eyes.

Donna let all this sink in as her mind filled in the blanks, she must have spent the last two years on the island training, and that must have been why the other amazons were hesitant to let her take up the mantle of Wonder Girl. And Circe's magic must have imbued her with her powers, not the amazons, "Was any of it real?" she asked.

"Of course…but not as much as I wished it was." Diana replied sadly.

James looked between the two, his anger had dissipated by now and now saw that the situation was anything but clear cut. He didn't approve of Wonder Woman's lies but she hadn't then things could have been worse off then they currently are. He looked at his lover and laid a hand on her shoulder, "Donna…look I know that this is a lot to take in, but I got another lead we can check out." he said.

Her azure eyes looked over at his sadly, "And if we find them? How on earth do I explain this?" she asked.

"Donna…..last month kids and parents were separated into sperate earths by magic…..don't think magical aging will be such a hard sell." he said, the amazon didn't look convinced. He slid her hand down her arm and clasped her hand with his, giving her whatever silent comfort he could while Diana watched them with a sad expression.

Donna looked at her mentor gloomily, "Diana…..I need space….so please…..just go." she said as she turned away and started making her way towards the road, leaving James and Diana alone.

The feral hero looked over at Diana, the hurt look on her face showing the damage that her 'sister's' words had done. "Give her time…..Donna will forgive you eventually." he said hopefully, he knew that Donna would eventually understand why Wonder Woman did what she did but given that she just learned all of this? It'd be hard for anyone to trust her right after that.

Diana gave a curt nod, "I know you two are close…just take good care of her. Please?" she asked. He gave a her a firm nod of affirmation, the amazon warrior took that as her sign to leave, flying up into the air and away as James turned back towards the direction Donna went.

He found he sitting in the snow on the side of the road, walking up beside her he sat down in the snowbank with her. They sat in silence, allowing the new information to settle over them for a few minutes before Donna wiped her eyes and James spoke, "I'm sorry." he apologized, making the amazon turn her head at him, "I wanted to give you your family but instead…..I made you cry." he said regretfully.

She shook her head, "No I…I needed to know this….and….at least I know now and not when I see them, confused how an infant turned to a teenager in two years." she joked lightly as she wiped he eyes again, making sure she wasn't still crying. He reached his hand up and clasped it over her's to show his support, "So what did you learn?" she asked.

James pressed his lips together as he remembered the dark, albeit informative story the shop owner had told him, "Well the doll was from an orphanage that closed because of a child slavery scandal. I'm thinking you were given to one of those couples and then got to New York though them." he explained, making his girlfriend's eyes widen.

"You've got to be kidding me." she said in disbelief, "What's next, did I have puppy that was run over?" she asked sarcastically.

He rubbed the spot where she hit, "No, but I did learn that there's a employee of the orphanage in town. I figure she might know something that could a least point us in the right direction." he explained. Donna nodded in agreement as James stood up and offered her a hand, pulling her up onto her feet she smiled at him fully. "I love you." he reassured.

She smiled as he made his way over to his bike and pulled it back upright and pushing it back out onto the road before climbing over the seat and turning the key to rev the engine. He felt Donna climb on behind him and wrap her arms around him to both hold on and give him an embrace before driving off down the road.

* * *

 **Newport Oregon, December 23rd 2010, 13:12 p.m.**

It took a few hours for James and Donna to locate the house belonging to the woman who used to work at the orphanage. Walking up to the door, James racked his knuckles across the wood and knocked, a moment later the door opened with a middle aged woman on the other side peeking out from the crack in the door, "Yes? May I help you?" she asked. The woman had her brown hair tied up in a bun behind her head, she wore a festive Holiday sweater on with a pair of khakis.

James gestured to him and Donna, "Ms. Elmira? My names is James and this is my friend…..Jen. We're hoping you could help us, you worked at an orphanage a few years ago?" he asked, using a fake name for Donna. The woman instantly became uncomfortable, her pupils dilated, her posture changed, and James could pick up on her fear. He held his hands up, "I know that it's a uncomfortable subject ma'am but…..we really need some answers." he pleaded.

The woman seemed to think over the request for a second, "Ok…..come in, I'll answer anything you want." she said, holding the door open for them. Walking into her living room the couple took a seat on her couch while she sat on the chair opposite of them, he looked over at Donna as they sat, she had been quiet the entire drive through town. He couldn't blame her after the bombshell that had been dropped on her, "So what exactly do you two want to know?" the woman asked.

The amazon finally spoke, "There was a little girl at the orphanage, her name was Donna and we're hoping to track down her family for her." she explained, "Her foster parents died and with what happened….we're trying to find her family and see if they can take her back." she explained.

The woman folded her hands together, "You….you should understand that I didn't know what was going on with the children….when I found out I felt so guilty….Donna was one of the last children that was adopted. As I remember her mother came in with her husband, at the time they were disenfranchised, they barely had any money to support themselves, let alone another child. They already had a boy and girl in her preteens, but a infant is expensive….and they thought we could provide a better home for her than they could." she remembered sadly. "They're names were Stacy, her mother's name was Dorothy if I remember right." she said.

James heard Donna's breath hitch in her throat, looking over he saw the tears beginning to brim in her eyes once again, "I hope this helps you but….I need to know is Donna….is she ok?"

Donna pressed her lips firmly together, "Yes….she's ok." she reassured as she stood up, "Thank you for your time. You've definitely helped." she said with a small grateful smile before exiting her home. As they walked down the street to where the bike was parked, James heard her let out a noise, looking over he saw tears streaming down her face with a large grin, "Sorry….I'm sorry I just…I know what my mom's name is and…." she stopped as James wrapped an arm around her back. She laid her head against his shoulder as the snow began to fall, tiny flakes dotting Donna's black hair.

"You've had a very rough day…..we can head back to the cave if you want." he offered, she slowly nodded, today had been emotionally exhausting for her and if she met her parents today on top of all that? She wasn't sure she could take it.

* * *

 **Mount Justice Rhode Island, December 24th 2010, 13:12 p.m.**

By the time the Team had returned from their mission in Europe, James and Donna had settled back at the cave for some well deserved rest. Donna had asked him to tell the others what they had learned about her past since she couldn't find the heart to tell them. To say that the Team was shocked was an understatement, "What can we do to help?" Artemis asked right away, Donna had been there for her when she was at her lowest and she wanted to do the same.

James rubbed the back of his head, "I don't know, Donna's just….letting it all sink in for the time being…..can't say that I blame her." he said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I guess…..be there for her, and if she needs help-" Superboy put a hand on his friend's shoulder and gave a firm nod of understanding, as the rest of the team left the mission room, Conner and James stayed behind, "Do you think….you could talk with her? I think you know better than anyone what she's going through." he asked.

"Yeah of course." the clone replied with another nod, as he left the room, James ran his hands down his face as he headed for the lounge.

Meanwhile in James and Donna's room, the amazon sat on the bed with her legs curled up against her chest. The events of the past day still weighing on her mind, she spent most of today sorting through her memories of Themyscira trying to think of what was real and what was fake. The knock at the door made her lift her head, "Hey Donna? It's Conner, can I come in?" he asked.

She let out a tired sigh, "Door's open." she said, the metal door slid open and Superboy stepped in, "Come to check up on me?" she asked with a small smile of appreciation. She knew that the others wouldn't just let her be, and with what she learned today she didn't want to be alone. "And hopefully to ask me if that outfit your wearing is appropriate for school because it's not." she added once she realized he was wearing the outfit the team wore to the circus.

"Ha ha, very funny. This is the last undercover gig I do for a while." he said rolling his eyes. "But….I imagine you're feeling kinda lousy." he said as he entered the room and sat at the foot of her and James' bed.

"Conner honey, your people skills need work." she stated, only to be met with his stare as a response. "Yeah…I do…I just…one day I think I know who I am but the next-"

"It's like your whole world is flipped upside down." Conner finished for her, the amazon nodded in agreement with the clone, "Look Donna….no matter what….your still one of my friends. And….it took me a long time to figure me place on the Team out, but when I did I came to realize that…..I'm only a weapon if I allow myself to be one, so instead of that I let myself be Conner Kent, Superboy. Not a Cadmus clone. Not a weapon." he explained, thinking back to his first few days with the other members of the Team.

He looked up and saw Donna with a look fo conflict, "I just…..Circe made my body into this as a weapon, and Wonder Woman and the Amazons made me Wonder Girl…..take those away and I'm just….Donna Troy." she said dejectedly .

Conner shrugged, "What's wrong with Donna Troy?" he asked simply.

The amazon slowly smiled, _What IS wrong with Donna Troy anyway?_ she thought to herself, _In fact…..maybe it's time I got to know her better._ "Conner, that's…sweet….and thank you...I really needed this." she said as she leaned over and embraced the clone who awkwardly returned it. "Hug me like a man Conner." she teased.

"No." the clone replied simply as he got out of Donna's grasp, the amazon warrior not missing the small smirk present on his face as he stood up. "Glad I could help." he said before making his way out the door to her room, leaving Donna with a grateful smile.

The young woman got up from the bed and walked out the door to her room, since James wasn't there then he had to be somewhere in the cave. She found him minutes later into the Lounge on the couch watching How The Grinch Stole Christmas, he looked over the back of the couch as she walked over, "Hey…..feeling better?" he asked, she leaned over the back and pressed her lips to his, her hand cupping the side of his face before she slowly pulled her lips away from his, "Yes then?" he asked.

"Yes…..I think I might go meet them….my parents I mean….today." she said, making her lover's eyes widen. She clasped her hands together in front of her, "I've been thinking all day about all the lies in my life and….I think that focusing on the truth in it is a much better use of my time." she explained.

"Do you want me to come with?" he offered, he had started this entire debacle and felt bad about Donna finding out some of the things that they discovered. However when Donna grinned at him he felt all the guilt subside for the moment.

"Yes I'm sure their long lost daughter showing up with a scruffy looking boyfriend the day before Christmas would go over well." she said with a roll of her eyes.

"…..I'm scruffy looking?" James asked in a anxious voice as he ran his hand across the peach fuzz that covered the lower half of his face.

Donna's thumb brushed a few of his whiskers, "I like scruffy." she replied before leaning down and giving him another kiss on the lips. "I'll be back….maybe with a present for you?" she hinted as she backed away from the couch.

The feral hero smirked, "I already got what I want. Seeing you happy." he said sweetly, causing Donna to snicker at how cheesy it sounded. As she left the Lounge, James looked back at the television, _And I did get what I want….an answer on me joining the League._ he thought to himself as he laid back down with his arms behind his head.

* * *

 **AN: Ok this feels kinda disjointed and I admit that, but I think considering that this is possibly the best origin I could make for Donna, GIVEN THAT THERE'S LIKE FIVE, that it's not too bad.**


	24. Chapter 24 (Usual Suspects)

**Usual Suspects**

* * *

 **Washington D.C. December 30, 09:00 a.m.**

"So you're sure? I mean this is a big decision." Laura asked James, the heroine dressed her superhero outfit while James stood across from her in his regular jacket, shirt and jeans inside the Hall of Justice. Outside reporters had gathered to broadcast the induction of new members to the Justice League, it was projected to be one of the most viewed events on TV this month, maybe even passing the ball dropping tomorrow night.

James however shook his head, "I'm good Laura….the team is where I want to be…..besides I don't like postulating." he said, looking behind Laura and through the glass doors to where the press conference was being set up.

The former assassin sighed, "Yeah same here." she agreed, having never really felt comfortable being the center of attention. She crossed her arms as she looked over at Wonder Woman as she talked to Superman and Batman, "How's Donna doing?" she asked.

James scratched the back of his neck as he looked back over his shoulder to see his girlfriend talking to one of the new member's, Icon, sidekick Rocket who had been given the offer to join the Team, "About Wonder Woman? She doesn't want to talk about it, her family on the other hand she's ecstatic about." he said with a small smile as the Amazon glanced after feeling him watch her and sent him a warm smile in return.

Donna had told him about her family as soon as she returned after leaving for four days, she had been welcomed to the family with watered eyes, many questions, and open arms. She had a younger brother and sister, Jerry and Cindy, and they were both welcome to add Donna to their family and both of them were excited to learn that she was a superheroine. However while her relationship with her family had blossomed into something wonderful, her partnership with her mentor had slowly begun to wither.

Laura placed her hands on her hips, "Can't say I exactly blame her." she said sympathetically, knowing first hand that secrets can be damaging. "…..if it were you, would you want to know?" she asked, thinking of Logan and how he searched for answers to his past as well.

James looked unsure, "I mean if I did something bad? I think I would but….if it was exactly like Donna's? I don't know. It's a tough call." he said honestly as he looked around the room. The new member of the League included Red Arrow, Icon, the Atom, Dr. Fate, and the newest Green Lantern, who was speaking with the other two current members, he noticed the new member of the corps glance over towards them, mostly at Laura. "So what's up with the new Green Lantern guy?" he asked, causing Laura to roll her eyes with a tiny smirk.

"Lady killer there has been tossing pickup lines my way ever since I met him." she said bemused, James let out a snort, "I'm pretty sure he's using them to just be friendly, like when I first met him he said 'You're the sharpest girl I've ever met'." she said, thinking back to how he flashed her a smile as he spoke.

James let out a slow chuckle, "Ohhh man now I wish I joined. I'd love to see that every day." he joked, making Laura slug him in the arm.

"Everyone." the entire roomed turned to the door where Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman had gathered, "It's time to begin." the dark night said, "All new members join us outside, everyone else can wait in the library downstairs and watch the conference from there." he announced. The members of the league made their way towards the door while the Team went the opposite way towards the elevator leading down to the library.

As most of the Team went over to the elevator, James stopped Red Arrow on his way out, "Look….Harper, about what happened….." he trailed off for a moment, "Look I think you can be a real asshole sometimes but I shouldn't have laid you out like that." he admitted shamefully.

Roy crossed his arms over his chest, "Well…..I can't exactly blame you…..you were right, everyone on the team is trustworthy…..besides I know that I can get a little….vocal when things don't go the way I want." he admitted, making the tracker roll his eyes. "We good?" the archer asked, the tracker nodded with a small smile. "Good…I gotta ask though. I know you had a chance to join the league….why aren't you?" he asked.

James shrugged, "Well reason one? They're kind of assholes, they keep things from us because they didn't trust us, I mean you know first hand what that's like." he said, the former Green Arrow apprentice frowning as he thought back to the last time he was at the Hall. "Reason two….I love it on the Team, they're the closest I got to family now save for Laura. And I feel like I'm right where I need to be." he explained as best he could.

Red Arrow nodded his head in understanding, "I get that." he said in understanding, it was the reason he wanted in the Justice League. He felt like he was made to be on the League, "See you around James." he said, giving the tracker a wave as he turned to the door and walking outside where the other League members had gathered while James entered the elevator and rode it down to the library where the rest of the Team had gathered.

Walking out of the double doors, he saw that most of the Team was watching the huge monitor screen on the other side of the room as the press conference outside began. "I miss anything?" he asked as he walked over to the table behind everyone where

Donna turned her head at his voice and walked over to him, "They just started giving out membership cards." she said, laying a hand on his shoulder and then leaning on him. As the camera panned over Wonder Woman briefly, he felt Donna's hand slightly clench his shoulder, he reached his hand up and laid it over her's to try and comfort her.

The camera then focused on Red and Green Arrow, the latter handing the former his own card with a prideful smile on his face. "Way to go Roy." Wally snorted with little enthusiasm, he still hadn't completely forgiven his friend for his accusations against Artemis, as well as him forcing her to reveal her family when she wasn't comfortable. But still he couldn't help but feel proud for his friend, despite what damage he caused.

Kaldur stood with a proud smile, "At last he has his wish." he beamed, happy that his friend had reached his goal.

Robin looked at his two friends, "No one will ever call him a sidekick." he boasted.

Raquel looked at them flabbergasted, "Wait, what's wrong with being a sidekick? You guys were my inspiration." she said proudly, causing the trio look between themselves before Robin spoke up to explain.

"Well, see six months ago-" he began before his watch alarm went off, pulling up the sleeve a small holo screen projected from his watch with a alert on it. "Kaldur." he called over, the team leader walked over and looked at the alert he received, he turned his head back to James with a serious expression. "Guys, we got a lead." the boy wonder said, causing the others in the room to straighten up.

Donna looked over at Raquel as the Team made their way to the Zeta tube, "You coming?" she asked with a knowing smirk. The newest member grinned before joining them and entering the Zeta tube, with a bight flash of yellow light they were at the cave.

"Oh Woah…..we got a base!?" Raquel said excited as she looked around the mission room with excitement, "I mean I always thought the Hall was-" she started until she was suddenly overcame with a small wave of what she could only describe as vertigo, "Wha-?" she asked aloud as Donna Kaldur held her shoulder.

"The first time using Zeta tubes can be disorienting for some." he explained, as he waited for Raquel to regain her balance. He looked at the others, "Everyone meet at the Bioship in five. We have little time to act." he said, the others nodding as they went off to change as Rocket finally regained her footing.

"I'm good, I'm….wait, the bio-what?" she asked.

* * *

 **Smokey Mountains, December 30th 2010, 10:48 a.m.**

"Are you sure it's her? Like really sure?" Artemis asked as the bioship swooped through a small clearing of the forest. Artemis, Robin, Kid Flash, and Kaldur sat near the front window while James and Superboy sat on the right side, and Donna and Rocket on the left while M'gann piloted the bioship.

"See for yourself." Robin said, making a few keystrokes with his hand and protecting it onto the front window. On the translucent screen appeared a woman with black hair tied into a ponytail boarding a small private jet on a runway, "This is the footage from Nashville Regional Airport." the boy wonder explained as the woman in the image climbed up the stairs to the plane, her head turned slightly and gave a clear look at the side of her face.

It was Cheshire, Artemis' sister. "Facial recognition confirms that's Jade Nguyen." he explained as Artemis sunk a little in her seat.

Aqualad noticed their archer's shift and drew his attention to Wolverine, "James, is that the case you and Artemis saw in New Orleans?" he asked as Robin shifted the focus of the image to the briefcase that the assassin carried with her. The tracker nodded, that was the one he saw weeks ago.

At this, Rocket finally spoke up, "Ok I'm guessing from the mugshot that this Cheshire is the bad guy." she began, "But what's so important about the case?" she asked the others curiously.

Robin brought up an image of the Injustice League that they had fought months back, "So remember the Injustice League?" Wolverine started, "Well while we put them away, their buddies have been up to something since then, and whatever is in that case is important enough for them to have gathered together and meet." he explained to their newest member from across the ship. "But when we tried to bust them, they escaped with that case."

Rocket nodded in understanding, "We're coming up on Cheshire's jet." Ms. Martin announced as the bioship peeked over the ridge of a canyon, she let out a soft gasp as the sight of a destroyed jet came into view. James saw Artemis look away from the scene.

"Ms. Martian, stop the ship outside the crash site." Aqualad, the Martian pilot nodded as the ship pulled to a stop outside the perimeter of the crash. The floor in the ship opened up, Wolverine, Donna, Superboy, Rocket, and Ms. Martian dropped out first with the other fallowing by grapple lines. When Wolverine hit the ground, he looked around the area of the canyon, the cliffs where high above their head.

He converged on the crash along with the team, as he approached the plane he noticed that there was no abnormal damage, "Robin, we know how the plane went down?" he asked as he peered into the remains of the tail section but found nothing while Kid Flash looked into the passenger section and found nothing but empty seats.

"Better question is why isn't Homeland Security or ASB all over this?" he asked, looking back towards Robin, kneeling down to pick up an orange box that he could only guess used to be the plane's black box.

"Cheshire's ID was a League alert. Authorities didn't pick it up and her jet didn't fallow it's flight plan. Flew under the radar, literally. But the Watchtower auto tracked the jet and recorded the crash." he explained, "As for the crash, there was apparently engine failure." he finished as James walked around the Jet to the other side while Donna was lifting up a wing to check for bodies.

"The cockpit is empty, Cheshire must not have flown it herself." she noticed, tossing the wing aside.

Superboy looked around and noticed something was missing, "If that's what happened…where are the bodies?" he asked aloud.

Wolverine let out a growl, "Because there aren't any." he said in anger as he popped his claws, the others realized what he meant. This was a trap.

"Here's one." a familiar voice called out to the team, they collectively turned to see Cheshire standing on a low ridgeline on the canyon wall where she overlooked the team. "And it is stunning." she said pridefully as she faced the team, not noticing the small smile of relief that Artemis had.

"I am flora, not fauna-" the Team turned their attention to the new voice on the opposite wall, lining the side of the gorge were league of assassin members in white gear wielding the same types of weapons that Queen Bee's forces had. On the top of the ridge was a skinny man in a green suit and purple tie with glasses. Beside him was mammoth, the same man they encountered on their first mission, still large and monstrous, "-I am foliage, not trees! What am I?" he asked the team before snapping his fingers.

Suddenly a number of pylons emerged from the ground on the top of the valley between the league of assassin members. Green electricity shot out from them before connecting together and forming a large dome over the gorge, cutting the group off from the Bioship and entrapping them. "Come on, you can get this! I am shrubbery, not grass, what am I? I?" the Riddler questioned once again.

"Am bush." Robin answered with a slight aggravated tone.

Riddler walked to the ledge and leaned down onto his knee, "Didn't you think we were tipped that you where on Cheshire's trail? We're tired of your interference kiddies, this is the endgame. Ordered from above, and executed by their master strategist, muai." he boasted pridefully as he guested to himself.

Wolverine rolled his eyes under his mask, _'Go!'_ Aqualad's voice ordered in his head, the berserker took off towards the canyon wall while the assassin's dropped down. _"Superboy! Go for the pylons, everyone else focus on the assassins, if you can take down Riddler and the others then take it!'_ James heard as he sliced though one of the spears the enemies wielded and drove his elbow into their face as Zatanna summoned a blizzard to life.

 _They're keeping their distance._ James noted, seeing that the shadows were trying to use distance to their advantage with ranged weapons. One of them swiped their spear out, an arc of crimson energy flew at the tracker, _Don't know that I can close it._ He added with a smirk as he leapt over the attack and it no it's sender, breaking his jaw with his knee. He charged at the next one with both claws raised, he faked an attack with one and slashed his side with the other, the assassin held the wound as James spun around and slammed his fist into the back of his head.

As one of them leapt at Wolverine with a spear, Wonder Girl intercepted him in midair 's just as James turned to counter, "That's five for me!" she said with a large grin before throwing him into another one of the assassins as she landed beside James, "Actually six." she corrected with a smirk that James shared as they were surrounded.

"Three so far but-" he was cut off as two red discs flew at him, he sliced through them and the two, grabbing their thrower and hoisting him over his head before slamming him into the ground behind him as another came up behind only to have the Wolverine heel him in the chest, cracking his sternum. He threw the one he still held in his grasp into one with large mallets around his hands, the mallet one ducked under his ally only for James to uppercut him. "-and tied now." he said as Donna blocked one of the spears wither bracers.

"For now!" she challenged as she grabbed the spear and swung it with enough force to send it's user flying, , she twirled the spear before stopping it with it's tip against the ground before breaking it off with her foot and charging into a group of assassins, taking outa trio of them with a swipe. "Nine!" she called out.

James grinned at the challenge, _I'm in love._ he thought as he unsheathed his claws, he leapt at group of men, he slashed one across the face and another in the calf as he landed before shooting his head up into another's jaw as he stood. He suddenly felt a blade tear through his shoulder. Turning his head he saw the unlucky assassin look down at his weapon, then back at James.

Right before he was promptly bashed in the face, "Ten." he said simply as Donna flew over with a roll of her eyes, "Could you?" he asked, pointing to the spear in his shoulder that had severed the nerves to his left arm. She reached behind him and yanked the spear free, 'Egh, thanks." he said gratefully as Donna threw the spear at one of the men, slicing through the backpack that fired disks of energy, "So what do I-"

 _"SB YOUR FLYING!"_ James and Donna's eyes both widened at Robin's voice over the mental link, they looked up and saw Superboy carrying Mammoth up to the apex of the dome before chucking him into it. The man beast hit the shield and crashed down along the ridge where Superboy flew down after him, zapping him with Heat Vison as he did!

"Holy shit!" James exclaimed as the two were hit by a shockwave caused by the clone slamming Mammoth into the opposite cliff and then unleashing a hurricane of jabs and punches that the couple could barely keep track of. "Jesus! Enough dude!" James shouted as they tried to get close, only for the impacts of Conner's blows to cause a rockslide. When he finally slowed his blows, Mammoth slouched over unconscious as Superboy breathed heavily. James and Donna stared at him with widened eyes, "….fuck me, I thought I was the one with the berserker." he muttered.

"Let's uhh…..give him some space." Donna said as she took a few steps back from the clone with her lover fallowing her example. As the blizzard died down, so did the fight, Robin had captured Riddler and incapacitated Mammoth's sister and the goliath himself was out of commission. As the couple made their way back to the bioship to radio the League and local authorities, she leaned over, "You were saying?" she asked with a flirtatious smile.

"I was asking, what do I win?" he resumed, the two of them stopping inside the bioship as the ship's door slid closed.

Donna bit her lip as she pondered, "Hmmm…."she hummed before a slick smile crossed her lips, "Winner's choice." she said, giving him a wink before entering the cockpit to get in touch with the League, leaving a smiling James.

 _I REALLY love her._

* * *

 **Mount Justice, December 30th 2010 15:45 p.m,**

"Tell me if this sounds familiar." Batman's gritted voice said as the Team stood lined up in front of him, Black Canary, Red Tornado, and Icon in the mission room, with the briefcase on a pedestal between them. "You hacked League systems, disobeyed protocol, and endangered your lives." he listed off, the group of younger heroes inwardly wincing at each offense. "Your initiative resulted in the capture of three escaped felons, proving Warden Strange runs Bell Reeve as a cover for criminal activities…well done." he finally praised, a proud smirk gracing the dark knight's features.

"Can someone go check the temperature in hell?" Donna whispered, hardly believing that not only that Batman of all people praised their actions, but actually smiled!

Robin had to hold back a snicker but thankfully his mentor was distracted by the contents of the case. "And then there's this. Biotechnology integrated with some form of nanocircuitry." he explained as Icon picked one up to inspect the device.

"Though I am unfamiliar with this species, the biocomponent is clearly not of earth." he observed before setting the device back in the briefcase.

"We'll take it to the watchtower for further study." Batman said as he closed the case and picked it up before walking over to the zeta tube and using it to travel to the watchtower before Rocket stopped Icon to quickly congratulate him.

Robin turned to Kaldur and James, "You realize we were set up." he stated aloud.

The leader nodded, "Yes, Cheshire and Riddler were tipped, and ready for us." he said as he recalled how Riddler had bragged about knowing that they were coming.

Artemis rubbed her temple with two fingers, "Not the mole thing again." she moaned in frustration.

Rocket looked at the others questionably, "Mole thing? Again?" she asked, again being out of the loop of the others.

Wolverine sighed, "We got some intel from one of the bad guys that there was a possible mole on the Team." he said tiredly, "Even though there was no physical evidence to prove it." he explained before looking at Kaldur and Robin, "Let's be honest, Cheshire has had our number for a while now, and if I was in her shoes and wanted to draw you guys out, using a well known alias would be a good way to do it." he pointed out.

Zatanna rubbed her shoulder, "We did kind of just charge in there when we learned about Cheshire." she muttered in support of James' theory.

Superboy took a step forward, "The prime suspects were Artemis, M'gann, and Me." he said, pointing a thumb at himself with a bitter tone.

Aqualad placed a hand on his shoulder, "It was more complicated than that." he stated sympathetically, Conner however brushed him aside and started his way across the room. "But your recent behavior does concern me, your attack on Mammoth nearly got Artemis killed." he pointed out bluntly.

Before James could add his concern, a high pitched ringing suddenly pierced his ears, he grit his teeth as he bit back a yelp, _FUCK ME IT'S LIKE A DRILL IN BOTH MY EARS AND THEY'RE MEETING IN THE MIDDLE!_ He thought painfully, withstanding the ringing noise for a few seconds before noticing that Superboy was in a similar state and recovering.

"Superboy?" Kaldur asked.

The clone turned and looked at the Team, "There's something I need to do….something I need to tell you." he said before looking down in shame, "Last month, on Thanksgiving, I went back to Cadmus….found a few things out." he admitted. The team listened closely to what he had to say, James nodded in understanding. If he was in Conner's shoes he'd probably do the same, "When I was cloned, only half the DNA was Superman's, the other half was human. That's why I don't have….will never have full Kryptonian powers."

James looked at him skeptically, "Dude you hit Mammoth so hard a cliff fell on him...after blasting him with heat vison." he pointed out as he recalled seeing Superboy do just that hours ago.

The clone pulled up his sleeve, "I've been using these." he said, revealing a black patch on his skin. "Shields, they suppress my human DNA. I get the flight, the heat vision…..but I think I also get angry…well, angry-er." he corrected, knowing full well that he had a knack for throwing the occasional temper tantrum as James called it. "I'm sorry." he apologized, knowing that keeping a secret this big from everyone was a huge.

James stared at his friend for a while before speaking, "Conner, where did you even get that stuff?" he asked. Superboy was smart, but you would need to have Batman levels of intelligence to craft something like that.

"From my human father….Lex Luthor." he said, revealing the worst part of the secret, the entirety of the Team looked at him with a shocked expression at this part of the secret.

James had to do a double take, "Hold it, hold it, hold it…..Lex Luthor. Biggest dickhead in the world….is your dad?" he asked in bewilderment.

"Yes. And he's summoned me to Santa Prisca." he added.

James ran a hand over his face as Donna stepped forward, and put a hand on the clone's shoulder, "Conner, listen to me." she began, "I couldn't care less who your human father is. Or that Superman is your other dad." she explained, making the clone smile a little at her words of encouragement.

"She's right." Artemis spoke up, "Trust me, genes don't make you evil." she said proudly, Wally gave her a smile and placed a hand on her shoulder.

The archer smiled at his touch, "So…who's next?" he asked jokingly as he leaned his elbow on the archer's shoulder as she smiled.

"….I am." M'gann said in a small voice, everyone looked at her then back to Kid Flash who looked just as surprised as anyone else. He quickly held both his hands up, "I swear to god I was just kidding." he said honestly.

The Martian looked down at her hands hanging in front of her, "Queen Bee's been….blackmailing me. She wants me in Santa Prisca too." she explained, James' eyes widened at the news. M'gann only had one secret that she would be so worried about the others finding out about.

"Blackmailing? How?" Kaldur asked, he couldn't imagine M'gann of all people doing something that would allow something like that to happen to her.

M'gann's gaze drifted down to the floor once again, "She knows my…true Martian form." she admitted, confirming James' fears.

"Bald M'gann?" Robin asked with a smirk, "Well who cares-"

"No." M'gann said as she shut her eyes, she inhaled a deep breath before uncrossing her arms and shifting into her true form. And James was ashamed to say that it wasn't the most flattering form M'gann had, everyone took a step back out of surprise when she stood above everyone in her white form. James finally got a clear look at her, her arms were long enough to reach her legs, her biceps had her muscles showing, and the back of her brain protruded out from her head down her neck to her back with a large mouthless grin across her face.

Donna blinked a few times, "That's…..not what I was expecting." she admitted aloud as M'gann looked at her friend's shocked faces and tried to cover herself shamefully.

 _"I realized that you would never accept me if you saw what I really am."_ she said telepathically, trying to find a way to remind her friends that it was still her despite her shocking appearance.

"M'gann….did we really seem that shallow?" Kaldur asked in a somewhat hurt tone. He knew firsthand that some people were not as accepting of others due to his Atlantean heritage, and knowing that M'gann didn't feel safe enough to tell him hurt.

 _"I couldn't take the chance…..being a White Martian among the Green on Mars….I endured constant rejection. I couldn't face that from-"_ she began, her voice on the verge of cracking.

"From me?" Conner asked before stepping towards M'gann, he wrapped his hand around her's and held it level to his chest.

As the two had a private conversation across the telepathic link, James felt Donna walk past him towards the Martian, "M'gann….you're like a little sister to me. I couldn't care less what you look like." she beamed at the large White Martian before wrapping her shin torso up in a hug, "…..sweetie please shrink down I'm worried I'll snap you in two if hug you like I want to." she asked, the Martian shifting back to her green form and embracing the Amazon with tears brimming in her eyes.

As she pulled away she wiped the tears away quickly as Donna smiled at her, she then turned her head to Kaldur, "So what do we do now?" she asked.

"Now. We use this to our advantage." he stated before addressing everyone in the room. "Whomever is involved in this secret cabal has underestimated us, they believed we would turn on each other, we're going to show them what us standing united accomplishes." he said with a determination that the rest of the Team had. "They expect us to meet on Santa Prisca, we'll get there first and lie in wait and then surprise them, and hopefully take Luthor, Queen Bee, and anyone else there."

* * *

 **Santa Prisca, December 30th 2010, 18:00 p.m.**

Wolverine adjusted his footing as he sat in wait in the tree line beyond the cliffside clearing, he could hear Queen Bee's, Lex Luthor, Sportsmaster, and Cheshire arrive with Artemis just as they had planned. Superboy was also doing as Luthor said to give the impression that M'gann hadn't scanned his head for any other key phrases to put him under Lex's control. However there were some unplanned guests, Bane and his men provided security along with the Blockbuster infused Desmond who made Superboy.

He was getting antsy, they would give them the signal when it was time for backup but with each passing minute he felt the pressure slowly build. He heard Robin land on the branch on the other side of the tree he was stationed at, _Be patent, they got this._ he thought to himself. Gunfire suddenly filled the air, he smirked at the sound that signaled that the enemy had been double crossed.

 _"Guys, reinforcement time."_ Artemis said with a hint of smugness across the mental link, Wolverine was already charging through the forest with his claws drawn a Artemis gave them a sit rep, _"I got Sportsmaster and Cheshire on me right now but Superboy is pinned by Blockbuster, and Bane and his men are regrouping."_ she informed the others.

 _"Robin, Zatanna, Wonder Girl, take out Bane. Wolverine assist Superboy, Kid with Artemis, me and Rocket will take care of Luthor and the henchmen."_ Aqualad ordered across the link as the berserker sprinted out from the treelined to Blockbuster as he ground Superboy into the side of the cliff. Unsheathing his claws he pounced at the Blockbuster's back, sinking his claws into the behemoth's back, he howled in pain as he reeled back, freeing up Superboy to leap up and uppercutted him.

Blockbuster fell back with the feral hero still on his back, slamming him against the ground to dislodge the teen as Superboy leapt up into the air where Ms. Martin was, the green skinned girl shooting her boyfriend down into the goliath just as it rolled off of James and punched the clone into M'gann, the two falling to the ground. the behemoth charged at the two downed team members, as he neared however Wolverine sliced the former scientist's side as he ran past him, as Blockbuster stumbled, the berserker slashed across his chest and abdomen, making the behemoth stumble back as it recoiled in pain.

Unsheathing his foot blade, Wolverine rolled between the doctor's legs and slashed the back of the his ankles as Superboy grabbed the former scientist's shoulder and continuedly striking him in the face. The ground shook as Blockbuster fell back, Wolverine and Superboy stood over the former scientist right before Superboy stomped his head back into the ground, knocking him out, "That was very therapeutic." the clone said with satisfaction.

James sheathed his claws, "Yeah, fighting big guys like this are pretty easy by now. Just go for the legs and hit them when they're down." he said, briefly thinking back to the Wendigo, Mammoth, and the Gorillas he's faced before. "Speaking of big guys." he said, looking over towards Bane as he Slammed Wonder Girl into the ground by her neck, Robin flanked him and unplugged the line of venom feeding into the back of Bane's skull, as he turned, Donna flew up and landed a hard left cross.

 **"!sniahc latem htiw rehtegit kniL !dniB dna eniwtnE citsalP"** Zatanna casted, the metal tubing that hung from Bane wrapped around him and turned into a metal chain link that Donna grabbed and threw at Robin, the boy wonder leapt at Bane and planted his feet firmly against his skull with enouvh force to stop him dead in midair before backflipping away.

The drug lord hit the ground with a loud thud, Bane was out cold. Wolverine rushed over to the trio of Zatanna, Robin, and Wonder Girl as they made sure that the heavy hitter was securely trapped. _"Anyone got a beat on Luthor?"_ he asked thought the mental link. Rocket landed beside them as Aqualad walked over carrying a few of Bane's henchmen.

The newest member of the team looked bashfully, "He got away with Queen Bee. His copper had a bunch of Anti air-" she began, trying to explain how they slipped away before Kaldur placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Your not at fault, we shall capture Luthor another day." he said, putting her worries to rest. Aqualad looked at the others as they converged around him, "But even then, today is a good day." he said, bringing a smile to everyone's face at today's victory.

* * *

 **Mount Justice, December 30th 2010, 21:03 p,m.**

James, Donna, Zatanna, Robin, Superboy, M'gann, and Kaldur stood gathered in the mission room of Mount Justice with a large screen projected in front of them. "Ok this….this is bad." the Amazonian said bluntly as she looked at the pictures on the projector. "We suspected that there was allies to the Injustice League but this is….." she trailed off. The seven had gathered together to pool over the information they had collected over the past few months, and tonight seemed to bring everything together.

On the screen were pictures of the villains that they had fought ever since the formation of the team, and they discovered that they all connected. Cadmus was bought by Lexcorp only recently but even then they had ties to him through Desmond, Blockbuster, who was trying to clone Superman but failed, and came out wit Conner. The Blockbuster formula that Desmond injected himself with was combined with Venom that Kobra had made, who was selling it to Sportsmaster.

Sportsmaster, who had been working with Kid Wicked, who they saw in New Orleans along with Professor Ivo, the current inmate at Belle Reave. Which is also the location where the five ice powered super villains where incarcerated, as well as Count Vertigo, member of the Injustice League. "This is more than just allies to the Injustice League, it's an entire organization." Superboy said in awe at the web of intrigue set out in front of them.

"He's right. Some of the threads are thin but they're still there, and this many….in such a short time…..what's the endgame?" Robin asked aloud.

Zatanna took a breath, "Ok. Do we show this to the League?" she asked, making the others turn to her, "Like Rob says, the evidence is thin for some of these, we could just write some of them off as coincidence….I just think we should get more proof." she explained, "I just find it hard to believe that Clarion would actually work with so many people on this scale." she said, providing an example.

Kaldur nodded, "Agreed, this is a great deal of information. Before we bring this to the League we must be sure we're not mistaken, we need more evidence….but for now there's little else for us to do. Perhaps the League's investigation into Belle Reave will provide some answers we need." he proposed hopefully. Aqualad looked at the others, "Everyone get some rest, we deserve it." he said as he collapsed the screen and saved it away for further study.

The group dispersed, Robin taking the Zeta Tube back to Gotham while the rest began walking towards their respective rooms.

The door to James' and Donna's room slid open, Donna sat down onto their bed with a slight groan which James instantly heard, "You ok?" he asked, the amazon reached over her shoulder and lightly messaged her back as he walked over to her side, she looked softly at him, touched from his concern for her.

"I'm fine, Bane just got a little rough." she replied simply, wincing when she grazed a particularly sore spot on her upper back. James reached over and gently ran his hand down her back, wishing he could use his healing factor on her to strip away her discomfort, or anyone's for that matter. Without a word, Donna carefully stripped off her upper costume, the padded fabric tossed aside and pulled her hair over her shoulders, exposing her back where a red bruise was forming on her upper back. "Can't believe I got manhandled by a luchador."

"A luchador hopped up on super steroids. Between him and Blockbuster I think you got off easy, I got a few ruptures and concussions." he said, making the amazon smile as she felt James gently pull her back down onto the bed beside him, his arm slipping around her and pulling her in close as she kicked off her shoes and slipped out of her pants. Her purple colored undergarments covering her, "I got a couple concussions if makes you feel any better." he offered before releasing a long yawn.

Donna's lips pulled into a smirk, "Only a little bit." she said as she turned in his grasp so she was facing him. "I….I missed this…..you." she confessed, the days away from the cave and with her family were wonderful but…James was a big part of her life. However when she didn't hear him respond, she pulled back and saw that he was already asleep. She still smiled however, and placed her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat as she joined him in peaceful sleep.

* * *

 **Watchtower, December 30th 2010, 23:35 p.m.**

"Still can't believe that no one knows about this place." Kyle Reiner said, looking out the large dome window at Earth, the planet hovering in empty space below them, a sight he still had not gotten used to. Ever sine getting the power ring he had flown every day just for the fun of it but he was still nervous when traveling in space, unlike Hal and John who were more used to space travel.

Laura stood across from him, nodding in agreement, "It's for the best really, if we really did gather at the Hall the entire capital would be more of a target than it already is." she explained to one of the League's newest members. "And I'm surprised you didn't try and make that a cheesy pick up line."

"First off, they're not pick up lines. And second they're not cheesy. They're sincere." Kyle reassured, making the former assassin roll her eyes, unconvinced with the artist's words. The new Lantern rubbed the back of his head, "Look I'm just….nervous, I mean this is the Justice League! Your X-23! You've helped save the world, and I just….got jewelry." he said meekly as he held up the hand with the power ring on it.

Laura smirked, "A ring that lets you make anything you think." she pointed out.

"Yeah but you got cool razor blade claws!" he proclaimed, causing Laura to look at him blankly, "You can cut through anything with them, you could cut through a building if you wanted." he explained, the other heroine looking at him with a unsure look.

She knew that people thought her claws were cool, but they were weapons first and foremost and they were made to take life. "I guess, but they still cut through my knuckles whenever I use them." she said, her hands flexing without her really noticing.

The new Lantern winced, "That sucks…..sorry." he apologized but Laura waved it off, after a while she was used to the sting of her claws coming out. "So….any advice for the new guy?"

"Stay away from Batman." Laura said plainly.

"…..isn't he like the leader?" Kyle asked curiously, before Laura could respond however, she felt something be placed against the back of her neck, before she could reach for it however, she froze with a blank look on her face as Kyle did the same, Hal Jordan walk away from him as Martian Manhunter did the same from Laura, the two joining the others as they mechanically walked towards the center of the room, forming up in a line as Red Arrow and Batman walked in front of them.

* * *

 **AN: Two chapters left until the end of this season WHOOOOOOO!**

 **I know this one was short but honestly this episode mostly has talking and quick action in it. However Next one will be more action packed I can tell you that!**


	25. Chapter 25 Auld Acquaintance

**Auld Acquaintance**

 **AN: This one starts out nsfw boys and girls so watch it!**

* * *

 **Mount Justice, December 31st 2010, 05:35 a.m.**

James had stirred from his sleep with a slight groan, his dreams losing their place in his mind as James' eyes adjusted to the low lighting emitting from the ceiling so they could see. Turning his head, he smiled at the sight of Donna asleep, he still didn't understand how she could still look absolutely beautiful with her hair frazzled about and with a small bit of drool sliding out the corner of her mouth. He laid onto his side to watch her, his healing factor made sleep an option for him as opposed to a necessity.

 _Waking up to that every morning, best thing a man could ask for._ he thought, watching as Donna shifted, the covers sliding off her shoulders and exposing her lavender colored bra. _Ok that's the best sight to wake up to._ he thought jokingly to himself as he reached to his hand out and grabbed the blanket just as Donna opened her dazzling blue eyes and saw what James was doing.

A smile graced her morning features, "Morning to you too…." she murmured out, sitting up and letting the sheets fall from her upper body as she stretched.

"Go back to sleep. It's too early to be up." he implored as he rubbed his eyes in hope of falling back asleep, he amazon glanced over at the clock and sighed before laying back down beside him. The amazon didn't bothering covering herself since James had seen her with nothing at all on, however she did notice that James' gaze was focused on her intently now.

"You said you were trying to sleep." she reminded.

His eyes met her's, James tried to ignore her wild looking hair, her beautiful blue eyes and sweet tantalizing, kissable lips. But the ever so slight scent of _her_ that he caught in his nostrils, "I'm not tired." he replied, the amazon noticing the spark in his eyes. Her lips curled into a smirk as she turned over onto him, her mouth was inches away from his just out of reach.

"Mmmmh, I can tell your wide awake." she purred, her inner thigh brushing over his stiffness. She slowly stroked him through his boxers with her thighs, "Your waking me up as well." she whispered while she watched James' face scrunch up in pleasure before an almost feral look appeared in his eyes. He tried to lift himself up, but Donna planted a firm hand down on his chest and pushed herself up, her heart was racing from the look of absolute lust James' face held beneath her.

She saw his fists gripping the sheets, she didn't need the mental link to tell that he was trying his damnedest not to simply pounce her, however she had recently learned of a way for him to release his frustrations. Reaching back, she grabbed the covers and threw them back, exposing themselves to the open air, looking over her shoulder Donna saw James was standing at full attention through his boxers. "Is that for me?" she asked cutely.

James would probably have smiled if he wasn't worked up, "Donna, I swear to every deity I will kill something if you leave me like this." he growled out, his hips pushing up to try and get some friction between them but only ending up with his covered head bushing against her ass cheek.

She reached her other hand back and cusped his rod, making the berserker beneath her stiffen with a growl, "I have no intention of doing that my love." she assured as she lifted the hand on his chest off him, James remained beneath her as she stroked him through his clothed waist. "Mmmm, why don't we do this every morning?" she pondered aloud. Her fingers slipped into the waistband and pulled the cloth down, freeing his hardness from their confines. She turned her head back to him with a sultry smile, "I want to try something."

"Anything." James said on the verge of desperation for her touch, she smiled down at him before leaning down and planting a kiss on his lips as she released him. She slowly made her way down, pecking his chin and jaw before moving down his neck and over his chest while she crawled back down the bed. When she finally reached his pelvis, her eyes examined her prize, her hand stroked his cock slowly while she readied herself, her fingertips brushed over the head and she heard James let out a grunt.

Noticing his lover's hesitation James regained as little composure as he could before finding his voice, "Donna you don't need to if you- "he began before her tongue flicked the head, he nearly tore into the bed with his bare hands from the spike of pleasure. "Fuuuucccck." he moaned out as his head craned back.

Donna watched his reaction with a breathy smirk before dragging her tongue up the side of his length, she didn't know what she expected but it wasn't bad, or good, honestly the only way she could describe it was like a mixture of sweet and saltiness that almost canceled each other out. Soon she found herself gliding her tongue up and down his shaft sloppily, however the way James was seizing beneath her sent a thrill down her spine.

She hovered over the head of the cock, brushing her hair back over her shoulder as she looked down at her target before shutting her eyes and opening her mouth, lowering herself down over his length slowly as she fit it into his mouth. She heard him moan while her lips closed around his cock, she slid down and began to suck him off.

She had no experience that was clear, but she knew that this felt incredible to James, so she persevered. Her head pushed just halfway down his cock just before she pulled back to the head as James let out a shuttering gasp, his hand reached out and laid on her silky hair while she grabbed what she could not fit inside her mouth, he gently guided her motions, pushing down when she did as well as pulling back. The wet sound

If he wasn't careful he could ruin this entire experience if he pushed too much, Donna looked up at him with her lips still wrapped around him, both of their sights simply fueled them with more lust as Donna resumed her cocksucking while beginning to use her tongue to swirl around his head, his hand gripping her hair told her that what she did brought him waves of pleasure he hadn't experienced before.

Her lips pulled up off his now wet length and planted a little kiss on the head, her ragged breath blowing over the slick member and sending shivers down his spine. The two lovers locked eyes, they both shared a smile with one another before Donna began to crawl up the bed on her hands and knees towards James like a predator stalking her prey.

She met with James eye to eye before sitting up by her knees and gazing down at him, his eyes roamed down from her eyes, her moist lips were slightly parted as she caught her breath, her covered breasts heaving slightly as she tried to catch her breath. But her overwhelming aroma is what drew his focus to her covered pussy, there was darker spot right in the middle of the purple panties she wore.

James leaned forward and clamped his mouth onto the damp spot, Donna released a soft moan as his warm breath passed through the thin cloth. She watched as James pulled away locked his eyes with her with his irises a mix of red and their usual brown which sent an excited shiver through Donna's spine before he closed his teeth around her inner thigh and bit down with enough to make Donna buck her hips against his face. "I can rip them off or cut them off." he growled.

Instead however Donna pulled the fabric to the side, exposing her moist lips which James immediately delved into her, the amazon howled out her loudest moan yet as he buried himself into her lower lips. The raven-haired beauty fell back, catching herself on one of her hands while James clung her rear cheeks his hands, giving them a firm squeeze as his tongue entered her clit while his nose bruised into her small patch of hair. "O-h oh godssssss!" she gasped out into a moan, her head craning into his waist.

His tongue danced along her folds before he parted from her womanhood, "Your pussy is so sweet Donna." he said before delving back into her, cutting his lover off before she could retort. He ate her out like a hungry animal, his lisp sucking against her outer folds while his tongue danced against her clit, slurping up the sweet tasting nectar that Donna produced as her legs wrapped around his head and trapped him against her core.

The amazon's loud moans carried throughout the room, her head rolled over to the side where she was met with her love's still erect cock standing at attention she grasped him and slid the pole back into her mouth, her moans sending vibrations to James which just made his 'attack' more intense. His hands slid up and around her body to her chest where he pulled her bra down enough for him to freely fondle her breasts causing her to moan around his cock loudly. He bucked his hips against her lips, shoving himself deep into her mouth as her drool slid down the sides of him.

James began to seize up, before he could warn Donna his cum shot into her mouth, causing the Amazon's eyes widen in surprised as withdrew her mouth and coughed some of his essence before finally swallowing while James continued to eat her out. "Mwwwahhhhh!" she moaned out as her lips popped off his length, "J-J-James I'm close I-Ohhhh!" she wailed in pleasure as her damn broke, James's as coated in her pussy juices when she finally came. Her legs loosed around his head, allowing him to pull away with a small string of liquid connecting his lips to her lower ones. He licked it up like he had just finished a meal before swallowing it in front of her.

The amazon couldn't help the blush to her checks at such a lewd act, they stayed in their places for a minute to catch their breathes as well as simply bask in the afterglow of sex. James pulled himself away from Donna, so he could lay down beside her, the raven-haired beauty looked at him with a sly smirk, "That was supposed to be your belated Christmas present."

James's hand brushed down her side to her hip, "Well maybe for you…. I certainly enjoyed myself." he replied earnestly, making Donna's cheeks brighten a little as her lips tugged into a smirk. "I wouldn't mind waking you up like that once in a while." he added.

Donna's eyes casted a interested look, "Hmmm….maybe." she tempted" to herself, "But then again if we did that every morning? We wouldn't leave the bed." she mused, "And eventually someone would go looking for us and next thing you know M'gann is scarred for life." she joked.

"She's over a hundred years old, if anyone would be scarred it'd be Conner." James guessed, making the amazon chuckle as she rested her head against his shoulder. That complaint however would easily be fixed if she and him had their own place to live aside from the cave, however the biggest glaring issue was that neither of them held any real money for something like that.

Donna chuckled to herself, "True…I love you."

"I know." He instantly responded with hesitation, "I love you too." he said, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her frame into his side. "Well we're obviously not going to get any sleep soon." he stated whilst observing their current state. "I could go for some breakfast." he offered.

Donna couldn't help herself, "But you just ate." she said before she could stop herself before biting her lips to stop herself from saying anything else. James looked at her blankly, causing her to burst into a fit of giggles and bury her face into his shoulder to muffle herself out.

"…I'm keeping the bacon for myself." he stated in retaliation. Donna's muffled laughter soon died down and she pulled back, looking at him with a small smile that slowly began to fade away. "What is it?" he inquired.

She didn't want to bring it up, especially during pillow talk but the thought had been weighing on her mind throughout the night, "Are we in over our heads?" she asked, "This…..cabal of supervillains, if we're right about this then it changes a lot of things." she explained.

The tracker slowly nodded in agreement, the formation of the Injustice League showed what a group of villains banding together would be like but the fact is that this secret group had been pulling the strings behind this entire operation since before the Team was even formed right under the Justice League's nose. "Yeah…..but something tells me that's not what bugging you." he guessed.

"…I'm just a little worried." she admitted. James held onto her a little tighter for reassurance. "…but the upside is that they don't know that we're onto them." she said with a small smile before noticing James' knowing smirk, "Sorry…I ruined post sex bliss didn't I?"

"A little bit yeah." James confirmed, getting a light elbow as a reply.

* * *

 **Mount Justice, December 31st 2010, 07:15 a.m.**

The Team had gathered in the hideout to further discuss the events that transpired yesterday along with the shocking revelation that they had stumbled upon. The group of ten made their way down the hall towards the mission room with all of them wearing their full costumes, "We have reason to feel proud of yesterday's victories, but one thing have not changed." he explained as Robin walked up beside him.

"Somehow the bad guys are still getting intel us." he explained. Even with their connecting the dots it still didn't explain how T.O. Morrow's androids discovered the location of their secret base, or how that their enemies had set a trap for them in the first place yesterday.

"Yeah, well at least we know none of us are the mole." Wally said unbeatably, Artemis looked over at him with a soft smile at his words. However James smacked the back of Speedster's head, "Ow! What's that for?!" he asked as he rubbed the spot where he had gotten hit.

The berserker looked at him flatly, "Ever heard of the phrase, 'tempting fate'? Because you have a knack for it." he said bluntly. Wally opened his mouth to retort but James held up a finger to cut him off, "Yesterday, when you asked who was next, your solo mission when you wanted some excitement, do I need to go on?" he asked.

"But it wasn't any of us!" he proclaimed loudly as hey entered the mission room where Red Tornado and Batman stood waiting.

"That's correct." the dark knight said before typing a few commands into the holographic keyboard beside him, "The mole was Red Arrow." he stated darkly as a image of the archer appeared while the Team froze in their tracks from bewilderment.

"Roy?" Robin asked skeptically.

"No way!" Kid Flash proclaimed in his friend's defense.

Kaldur regained his composure, "Batman that cannot be." he stated firmly, "He was Green Arrow protégé, we've all known him for years." he declared, readying to list off more reasons for his friend's innocence. The others looked skeptical at the news as well, James even knew Red Arrow was innocent. The two of them may not have always seen eye to eye on everything but that didn't mean that he thought the crimson archer was capable, let alone willing to betray his friends.

"Unfortunately, the Roy Harper you have known for the last three years, is another Project Cadmus clone." Red Tornado explained, James saw Conner stiffen at the mention of Cadmus cloning. How they were still allowed to function after discovering Superboy was beyond him, but after this he was certain that it'd be burned to the ground.

Batman picked up to explain, "We've learned that the real Speedy was abducted soon after becoming Green Arrow's sidekick. The clone was programed with a drive to join the Justice League, which is why he was so angry over any delays admission, why he refused to join the Team. This Roy Harper was had no idea he was a clone, or a traitor, and his subconscious programing drove him to become League worthy." the dark knight told the team, however as he spoke James couldn't help but sense that something was off.

The explanation was…..convenient, Roy's anger towards the League was understandable, and his drive to join was real that much was apparent. But what the root of his suspicions wasn't the reasoning but the two presenting them to the Team. He hadn't picked up on it when he entered but now he could smell it clearly, there were pheromones in the air, the almost chemical scent radiated out from the two Leaguers in front of them like animals in heat.

Batman finished his explanation, leaving one question which Robin asked, "What….what happened to the real Roy?"

"We don't know, he isn't at Cadmus…we have to face the possibility, that the real Roy Harper…is dead." he stated bluntly to the Team, Kaldur, Wally, and Robin seemed to take the news the hardest, James felt the anger come off them in waves.

"The clone Roy. The Team will find him." Aqualad stated with a slight edge to his voice, deciding to use his grief for now and not let it consume him or the others.

"Negative." Batman said, "Red Arrow is a member of the Justice League now. Leave him to us." he ordered before receiving a call in his cowl. "I'm needed on the watchtower." he said before turning towards the Zeta tubes, "Tornado, stay with the kids." he said as he passed, the word 'kids' sticking out to James like a sore thumb. He had never once heard Batman refer to them as kids. A tug on his sleeve was a signal from Donna, she had caught it as well.

Kaldur turned to the Team with determination brewing in his eyes, _'Clone or no clone, Red Arrow was one of us. We will go after him.'_ he said across the mental link while Red Tornado approached him from behind with his arm raising up. However James stepped forward and stopped the android by the wrist. The android look at him before shaking slightly and hunching over.

The team looked at him shocked, _'Dude what did you do?'_ Kid Flash asked in slight alarm while Robin walked up to the android with a suspicious look whilst he activated his scanner.

 _'I was getting a bad vibe from him and Batman! I didn't know I'd…..turn him off!'_ James thought across the mental link in his own defense. He was honestly just going to ask what was up but he didn't think the android would just shut down like this! _'Oh god I didn't like….kill him did I?'_ he asked with a slightly worried tone.

Zatanna held her hands up against her temples, _'Guys, I'm sensing a low level mystic force at play. I dounno if it caused his shutdown but….now that I thinking about it, I was getting the same buzz off Batman.'_ she realized as she lowered her hands from her head and looked at Red Tornado quizzically.

 _'I was smelling something like pheromones coming from both of them, I couldn't tell if they were lying or not…..something is up with Batman at least.'_ Wolverine said, eyeing the Zeta tube that he had used to leave the cave.

 _'Batman/ He…..called us kids. He never does that.'_ the boy wonder realized.

Kid Flash looked over Red Tornado when something in his hand caught his attention, _'Look.'_ he thought to the others, drawing their attention to the small jagged device he held within his hand. _'It's one of those bio-tech chips we confiscated off Cheshire.'_

 _'Something is not right.'_ Aqualad stated, he looked at his Teammates, _'Robin, Kid, Zatanna, Rocket, Wonder Girl. See if you can't get Red Tornado back online. The rest with me to find Ro….Red Arrow.'_ he corrected himself as the others fallowed him out of the cave, leaving Donna, Robin, Rocket, Zatanna, and Kid Flash with Red Tornado.

Robin looked down at the screen over his bracer, _'The problem is hardware nto software. But where do we start?'_ he asked Kid Flash and Donna sent Zatanna an unsure look. She was nowhere near the level of technology savvy as the others on the team, she knew how to work her phone but that was after months of not knowing that there was a guide built into it to show her the features. She knew she was here in case Red Tornado 'woke up' and tried to attack.

"You got any ideas?" she asked, being the first one to say anything out loud since Batman left. Zatanna looked up at the ceiling where the entrance to Red Tornado's room was. During the mission to New Orleans the other members of the Team, Donna included, found that Red Tornado was currently working on his own alter ego…..in the form of another body.

The light flipped in Donna's head as she realized what the magician was hinting at, "It could work right?" she asked the Amazon.

* * *

"Am I the only one getting Frankenstein vibes from this?" Donna asked, looking down at the two bodies before, each of them laid out on a table. One of them was Red Tornado an the other was a Caucasian bald mam with red pants on. After explaining what they had found in his room, Robin ordered Donna to retrieve the body so that they could download his software into the body.

Kid Flash connected some wires to the side of Red Tornado's head, "Only if we had a hunchback, and there was a thunderstorm outside….other than that yeah, total Frankenstein vibes." He agreed as Robin began the download.

The amazon watched as the screen showed the progress of the download between the two bodies, "Ok so when you said software, it's basically his brain. Right?" she asked, Kid Flash nodded, "And the Hardware is his body then?" she reaffirmed, wanting to make sure she understood exactly what they were doing. Wally made a thumbs up sign and Donna sighed, "I swear learning other languages was more easy than this." she muttered before the Zeta Tube's light came on and Black Canary entered the cave.

"Hey guys, I just wanted to come check on-What are you doing to Red!?" she shouted I shock as she realized what she walked in on.

Kid Flash was the first to speak, "Ok this isn't what it looks like!" he denied.

"It looks like your downloading his consciousness into a new body." The martial artist stated plainly.

Kid Flash and Robin look at each other, the boy wonder rubbed his shoulder and looked away while Kid Flash tried to find something to say. "Ok…then it is what it looks like." he said just in time for the machine to chime, signaling the download was complete, Red Tornado sat up in his human body and opened his eyes.

"TEAM GET OUT OF THE CAVE NOW!" He warned before Black Canary suddenly unleashed a canary cry that sent Red's torso off the table into Wally while the Legs hit Rocket and Zatanna. Donna and Robin charged at Black Canary, Robin down at her with a fist which she easily grabbed before slamming him down into the floor. With her back turned, Donna grabbed her waist and hoisted her up into the air before falling back and preforming a suplex on her and pinning her to the ground while Robin recovered and used a sleep pellet to knock her out while Rocket used her barrier to trap the gas around Black Canary's head.

When she finally fell unconscious, Wonder Girl looked over at the boy wonder with a small smile, "Nice going." she said, holding up her hand which he high-fived.

* * *

 **Watchtower, December 31st 2010, 23:10 p.m.**

Finding Roy had been easy, his last Zeta Tube location was in Washington D.C. where he had a safehouse located. Once He explained everything that happened to him, the Teams regrouped and filled each other in on what they had learned. Vandal Savage was now in control of the Justice League, due in part to Red Arrow being a Cadmus Clone who infiltrated their ranks and used a new form of technology that used nanotech as well as magic to control the host's body.

Thankfully the Team happened to know a few certain people to help out, the day was spent flying around the world to gather the people who could create a counter to this Starro-tech, the first was Sterling Roquette, the scientist that Red Arrow himself had saved from the League of Shadows and the inventor of the Fog. Queen Mera of Atlantis and their chief scientist who gladly helped, and finally Amanda Spence of Cadmus who Conner recommended.

What their efforts bore fruit to was Cure-tech, a counter to the mind controlling technology that had infested the Justice League. Of course they had to test it out on Black Canary and Red Tornado's bodies, the former of which took an hour to wake up from after the injection caused her to loose consciousness. Each member of the Team had taken about a dozen or so chips of cure-tech, when they encountered a Leaguer they just needed to place it on them and they would be saved.

And luckily Black Canary and Red Tornado knew of a route into the Watchtower that Vandal wouldn't know about, or rather they would make a route since a wall on the lower level of the tower was weaker than the others. So after ten solid minutes of Wonder Girl and Superboy bashing through the wall of the Watchtower, the Team infiltrated the space station. _'RT did it, wirelessly bypassed security as soon as he arrived. Savage doesn't know we're here.'_ Robin said across the telepathic link to those gathered around him.

 _'Everyone move out, stick together in pairs, this is the justice League, even controlled they should never be underestimated.'_ Aqualad warned before the Team split up into pairs, Superboy and Robin, Kaldur and Rocket, M'gann and Zatanna, Kid Flash and Artemis, and Wonder Girl with Wolverine.

As Wolverine and the amazon made their way through the watchtower, James took a whiff of the air, _'Ok Robin, Superboy, Hawkman is close by alone on patrol, take him out.'_ he thought through the mental link as he stopped by a corridor corner as footsteps echoed down the hall, peeking around the side the red eyes of his stealth suit caught sight of Aquaman, Green Arrow, and the Flash enter a doorway with the words 'Cargo Bay' right beside the door frame. Donna flew up above near the ceiling to avoid detection, stopping just above the doorway she peeked inside.

 _'Green Arrow, Flash, and Aqualad spotted.'_ She reported, there were little odds that she and James could take the three of them alone even with her strength and his claws. _'They're alone for now.'_ she added as James slipped past the doorway beneath her undetected and continued down the hall.

Reaching an stairwell, Donna flew up through the shaft while James fallowed her up the stairs until he caught the scent of a lone Leaguer. Stopping at a door in the stairwell, Donna landed silently behind him and looked over his shoulder as the door slid open. Only for the newest Green Lantern to be awaiting them on the other side, "Aw hell." James muttered before the startled Lantern flew back and fired a array of green energy blasts at him, Donna flipped over in front of him and raised her bracers to deflect the oncoming shots.

Wolverine ran out from Donna's flank to try and grab the Green Lantern, however Kyle simply formed a robotic claw to grab him and toss him down the hall behind him. Donna took off at him while his focused as turned to Wolverine and tackled him through the air and out the door that Kyle had thrown Wolverine. The berserker picked himself up off the ground, they were in the atrium part of the Watchtower now, with a large window looking out towards space with the ledge behind him looking over an artificial forest.

 _'Guys we got a Lantern here, would love some backup now.'_ he thought across the mental link just before the newest member of the League formed a green Gatling gun and pointed it at the two team members.

"….aw crap." Donna said before the barrel started rotating. Before she could raise her gauntlets Wolverine charged past her directly towards the Green Lantern as he unleashed a hailstorm of gunfire onto the tracker. The constructs tore into his flesh while the teen powered through the bullet storm, slabs of flesh being torn from his body despite his perseverance until he fell onto a knee. Donna's first instinct was to cover James until he could heal himself, but before she could fly in front and block the fire she saw that all of the controlled Lantern's attention was solely focused on James.

Seizing the opportunity she pulled out one of the cure-tech patches from her gauntlets and flew up towards the underside of the ceiling before curving and flying down behind Kyle and placing a patch on his neck, he froze as his construct disappeared before falling to the ground. Donna flew over to James and kneeled beside him, "Are you-" she stopped when she saw the extent of the damage.

The left side of his mask and face were gone, his silver skull showing through the damage while the functioning side of his face was breathing heavily. his left arm and side were also heavily damaged but was already healing themselves back to peak condition. "Never mind, dumb question." she added as she helped him up onto his feet while he let out a small growling sound.

"That…was…painful." he proclaimed angerly while his face mended it's tendons and skin back into place. The pair heard a pair of footsteps approaching from the hall they came from, turning their heads the berserker sighed when both X-23 and Wonder Woman emerged from the hall, "Pain isn't over yet apparently." James said as he readied his claws for Laura.

She pounced at him, sending the two of them off the ledge and into the forest area below while Donna clashed with her mentor. Crashing through a series of tree branches, the two kin hit the ground and rolled away from each other with their claws out while crouched to the ground. James took in Laura's demeanor, the almost blank expression made his blood, Laura was being controlled against her will by someone else again, this time he would be sure that whomever thought this to be a good idea would suffer more than Kimura did.

But thankfully, James knew that he could take Laura.

The two took off at one another like a gunshot had been fired, entire upper body lunged forward with her claws out forward while James dodged to the left and sliced his claws across her back aiming for her spine to temporarily disable her but only managing to graze her. She turned and swung her foot out with her claw extended, James lost right eye to the blade but grabbed her leg with both his arms and pulled her off balance and slammed his elbow into her face. She fell down with James plunging his claws through her chest just below her heart.

Before he could attach the cure-tech to her though her feet slammed into his chest, kicking him into the side of one of the surrounding trees, she charged at him with claws raised and the same blank expression on her face. James leapt oup and grabbed onto a branch while swinging his feet out with both sets of claws out at Laura's head. He's beaten Laura before but that was when she was a unthinking rage machine, she might not have control of her body but she still seemed to be think for herself. She slid under her legs and slashed the back of his knees, rendering them useless for the time being.

 _Perfect._ he thought sarcastically as he was pulled down from the branch to the ground, her claws lunged at I head but he blocked them with his own, locking them in place as she put all her weight forward, her twin sets of claws both inching towards his face. Going on instinct he slammed his head int her's, his metal covered skull cracking her's and dazing her long enough for him to sink his rink claws into her head, 'killing' her.

As she slumped over, James placed the cure-tech on her neck and watched it absorb into her skin before letting out a sigh of relief, "Sorry Laura." he apologized as he sat and waited for his legs to heal. Reaching up to his face he tore off the remains of his mask and tossed it aside before standing up and making his way out of the forest and towards the stairway leading to the floors above.

As that went on, Donna clashed with Wonder Woman.

Donna swung a kick in midair at her mentor only for it to be grabbed before Wonder Woman swung her around and threw her through a brick column, bouncing across the ground, Donna stood and wiped some blood on her lip. "You know, I've been having some issues with you for a while now." she said as Diana flew right at her. Donna sidestepped her and grabbed her lasso on her belt, tying it on her ankle and pulling it taught before yanking her back and driving her fist into the back of Wonder Woman's head into the ground. "So this is actually very therapeutic for me." she finished right before Diana swiped her legs out from under her.

Thankfully Donna merely floated in the air before diving at her mentor and sending them both crashing through the ground and into the wall on the floor beneath the one she was previously on, she reeled her fist back to try and knock Wonder Woman out but she countered by kicking her in the midsection and kneeing her in the head when Donna double over, she flew off the wall and three her into the ground below. Donna lifted herself up onto her side, _Ok brute force obviously wont work. Time to get a little creative._ she thought before taking another cure-tech patch from under her bracer amd tossing it in her mouth, _This is just going to be plain…ew._ she thought as Wonder Woman came down on top of her.

Grabbing Donna by the cuff of her collar she lifted her up and reeled her arm back, before she could hit her however, Donna stick her tongue out onto Diana's hand, attaching the cure-tech to her skin, Diana's eyes widened with surprise before closing them and falling down. "Ugh, that was gross." Donna said out loud before spitting. "That's how you get sick Donna, licking people's hands." she chastised herself before picking up Wonder Woman and carrying her over to the pillar by the ledge.

"….Sorry for that…I'm still mad at you…..and I think you know that." she said to her unconscious teacher. She knew that this was not the time or place for such platitudes but she had been sitting on her feelings ever since she last saw Diana…..and she knew that the minute she saw her she would want to forgive her…..but….

"Diana…..I love you like a sister….you ARE my sister. But….I'm not ready to forgive you just yet…I will eventually, I know I will but for now…." she let out a sigh. "I want to tell you this when your awake but I just know that you'll say something that will make me want to forget all this, and you'll say how you understand and blah blah blah." she repeated as her eyes drifted upward. She took a deep breath, "I'll forgive you…..just not yet…and I know you worry about me, but….I'm ok now." she said before leaning down and placing a familial peck on Diana's tiara.

She leaned back and placed her hand on her sister's head, "Good talk." she finished before turning around, her eyes widened when she saw James standing in the doorway with a soft smile. Seeing the state he was currently in she couldn't help but wince, "Your having a bad day aren't you?" she asked sympathetically.

"I was just torn apart by a minigun, then had both my leg tendons slashed…..yeah I'm having a bit of rough day." he stated as he pushed off the doorway he was leaning on for support. _"How are we everyone?"_ he asked through the mental link.

 _"Our Mentors are subdued, everyone regroup and meet up in the central control room. It is time we put a end to this coup."_ Aqualad informed the pair. The two immediately left to meet up with the other members of the team, they met with Robin, Ms. Martian and Superboy as they ran up the stairs towards the main hall where they met up with the others, them having come from the interior of the station. As they entered the main hall, they all saw both Vandal Savage and Clarion disappear into a swirling red vortex.

As the vortex dissipated and with it Vandal Savage, much to the Team's disappointment. On the ground was the Red Tornado's torso, his arms and legs having been torn off by some of the Justice League members, Aqualad approached him and kneeled down beside him, "Good work Team. You have won the day." he congratulated the others.

As Kaldur stood up, a holo-screen appeared in the middle of the room signaling the time, ' _12:00. Happy New Year, Justice League.'_ the computerized voice announced before it began playing Auld Lang Syne, the song that was always played at new years. James couldn't help but smirk to himself, looking over at Donna she looked around somewhat confused as the others looked at one another, Conner an M'gann shared a kiss as Wally picked Artemis up in his arms and kissed her as well.

She turned back to James with a grin, grabbing him by his shoulders she pulled him over and dipped him down, much to her lover's fluster before her lips met his. He was surprised at first, however he could only wrap his arms around her neck and kiss her back, pulling away they shared a small smile before Donna pulled him back up onto his feet. "Human custom still eludes me." Red Tornado said, causing them both to look down at the android. Donna leaned down and gave him a small peck on his forehead, "….I still see no appeal to this action."

* * *

 **Watchtower, January 1st 2011, 00:45 a.m.**

After the Justice League finally regained consciousness, after explaining what happened what had transpired the League members gathered went to work trying to track down Savage and his cabal that the Team had discovered, handing over all information that they had gathered. James, Roy, Robin, and Kaldur sat in the meeting room of the Watchtower at a U shaped desk along with their mentors, plus Black Canary who was there to help Roy and Green Arrow and Captain Marvel for moral support.

And with the day winding to a close, Roy's situation was finally beginning to sink in upon him, "Everything I knew about myself is a lie…I'm not a hero, or a sidekick…..I'm a traitor." he said shamefully as he looked down at the table. "A pawn." he finished, James felt Laura tense up beside him, she knew all too well what Red Arrow was going through, the regret, the guilt, the knowledge that he was responsible for compromising the safety of his friends and mentors.

"Roy it'll be-" Black Canary began as she tried to place a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm not Roy." he cut her off, "I don't know what I am. All I know is I have to find the real Roy, I need to rescue Speedy."

"Guardian is already searching Cadmus." Batman reassured, however it seemed to bring little comfort to Red Arrow. "However we have other issues as well, Bell Reave's supervillain population has all but disappeared while we were indisposed." The dark knight added, "The warden, Hugo Strange, is missing as well and is thought to be the perpetrator behind the escape." he explained.

"I'll work on tracking Strange down." Laura volunteered as she raised a hand, "He could lead us to the locations of the other inmates, maybe even other members of this…Light." she suggested, receiving nods of approval from the other League members. As she stood to leave, James did as well before fallowing her out of the room. When they turned the corner she gave James a smile, "Thanks…..I mean it." she said sincerely as she placed a hand on James' shoulder.

The Team's tracker shrugged, "All in a day's work for the Team." he boasted proudly as they walked down the hall to ledge overlooking the atrium. They both stopped and took in the sight of Earth in the large window on the opposite wall far across the room. "You know looking back….it's weird thinking I used to be solo for so long." he said suddenly, "I mean it was you and me for the longest time but now….I take a look around and it's hard to believe."

He saw Laura frown out the corner of his eye, "That's on me….I asked you if you wanted all this and you said yes but…..I still just kept you tucked away from this." she stated plainly.

"Yeah but I don't blame you for that." James countered, causing his sister to look at him imploringly for an explanation. "Look it would have been cool to hang out with Robin, KF and Kaldur but they were just friends then. Now…..this is a team and…..I may not have been with it since day one, but I'll always be a part of it. And I love that." he said proudly, making Laura smile. The two heard the sets of footsteps behind them and saw Kaldur and Robin approaching them with serious looks on their faces, "Let me guess, we got an Op?" he guessed.

"Guardian hasn't reported in sicne the League contacted him. We're to investigate Cadmus and report our findings." Kaldur explained. James nodded in understanding as he walked with them, leaving Laura to watch him with a proud smile.

 _….he's got what you wanted Logan….family._ she thought to herself, watching as James gathered with the other members of his team and readied to move out.

* * *

 **Washington DC, January 1st 2011, 00:50**

Lex Luthor watched as Mala, the Brian's companion, loaded Roy Harper into the back of the transport truck. He turned his head to his own companions, "The League will mobilize soon, we'll change trucks to be safe and then transport the specimens to your location."

Ra's Al Gul nodded, "The League's investigation into us will be brief, they'll be too busy focused on our distraction at the Bell Reave facility. It is the children we will have to deal with." he pointed out as the back doors of the transport closed before driving off. As it turned out of the parking lot, a new figure walked forward through the smoke it left behind.

He stood seven feet tall, his buff frame was covered with a long black trench coat, his hands had pointed black clawed nails on the fingers but wasn't the most noticeable feature. His hair was long and white, tied back into a ponytail with the hair pulled back to show his pointed ears, his pupiless eyes looked at his compatriots with a slight grin, showing one of his fangs, "I shall see to the children. It's been far too long since I have had some playthings." the man said sinisterly as he raised a hand and cracked his knuckles.

Just before four silver claws popped out from between his fingers.

* * *

 **Epilogue**

James walked though the cave of Mount Justice with a irritated look on his face, by the time the Team had arrived at Cadmus, they had cleaned house and taken all their resources off site along with Guardian. Robin had managed to retrieve some hastily deleted files in the hopes that they could find a lead. Cadmus was going to be a joint investigation between the Team and the League, with both groups taking shifts between investigating the front for the light and locating the escaped supervillains.

The Team had also extended Roy an invitation to rejoin until his predicament was settled which he humbly accepted, so he would be staying in James' old room.

He wanted to do one more sweep of his old room before Roy took up residence, just to make sure he didn't leave something behind. The door slid open and he stepped inside, however as he crossed the threshold to the room his senses picked up a scent, someone had been in his room while they were gone. _How the hell…..even with the League out of commission there's still enough security here to keep anyone out._ he thought as he began to search his old room.

Opening the closet he found nothing inside, he turned his attention to the desk beside the door, opening the drawer under the surface he still found nothing. He then looked at the bed, he ran his hand over the comforter for anything feeling out of place but found nothing of the sort.

Finally he laid on the ground and looked underneath he bed, where a box was awaiting him, reaching under the bed he grabbed the tin box and pulled it out, giving it a sniff he didn't detect anything dangerous like explosive materials or anything like that. He placed it on the bed and slowly opened the lid.

Inside was a piece of folded paper covering the rest of the contents, picking up the paper he unfolded it.

 _'James._

 _I'm sorry can't even describe the amount of regret I feel for leaving you, and I know that nothing I can say can make up for a lifetime away from you but I need to warn you._

 _Romulus is coming._

 _Logan.'_

James' eyes widened to the size of plates at the signature, looking back inside the box he saw the contents for the first time. Reaching inside he pulled out a shoto with a red sheathe, it was a smaller version of a katanna that was about the size of bowie knife. Grabbing the handle he pulled out the blade, the steel was the crimson color of red and looked sharp as his own claws.

"What. The. Fuck?"

* * *

 **AN: And Finally, the first story is finished!**

 **Now for the bad news. The sequel for this won't be coming out anytime soon, honestly there's a fair chance season 3 will come out before it does. Considering I need to plan out what happens in the span of five years I think I have my work cut out for me, thankfully there are official dates for big events, like when Robin became nightwing, when Jason Todd joined and died, etc.**

 **But for the last time, there are NO OTHER MARVEL CHARACTERS OUTSIDE THE X-MEN THAT WILL APPEAR IN THIS. And what I mean by that is there is no professor x, no X-Men, no Jean Grey, Cyclops, Beast, Rouge, Kitty Pryde, Jubilee, OR ANYONE like that going to suddenly appear in this story without explination.**

 **This is a wolverine focused story. Ok?**

 **Alright now just because the sequel to this wont be out for a while (seriously I doubt it will even come out this year even with the ideas I already have in mind) I will still be making other stories if you guys are interested.**

 **First off my newest story, Spider-Man Volume 1 (Spider-Man/RWBY) is my other main focus and I'm really excited to work on that over the summer.**

 **And with this one done I'm actually toiling with the idea of another story…..and more shockingly a story that isn't a crossover…with possibly the most divided fanbase that a anime can have…..it's Sword Art Online.**

 **And ok before people tell me 'for the love of god don't do it!' (which I've told myself many times) my reasoning is this: If you think the show is bad (and I'm speaking as a fan and I know it's bad) then I can only improve on it. I mean what gave me this idea is a fucking mobile game for it that doesn't even fallow the main character.**

 **Ok aside from that rant, I got to say something.**

 **I started this story with a lot of energy and enjoyment but lately….it's felt more like a chore to be honest. Now I don't want to abandon this story, I truly love the concept I came up with for this and I WANT to do more. But the problem is….you know how you like a food like pizza, and you want to have it every day? But after a while you start to get sick of it?**

 **That's kind of how this story feels. BUT! I think if I take a bit of time away from this, rewatch some Young Justice without having to pause every ten seconds to type the lines directly from the show, I'll get my groove back.**

 **So until then everyone I hope you enjoy your summer (I know I am, passed trigonometry) and I'll see you all around!**


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